Amanda Beard stole the hearts of America when she appeared on the poolside of the Atlanta games, aged 14 with her teddy. The Olympic Swimmer might of missed out on London 2012 but she has a multi medal winning career and already has her sites set on the 2016 games.  She was the second youngest Olympic medalist in U.S. Swimming history when she competed at the 1996 event, where she won two individual silver medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke and a gold as part of the medley relay.

Recently the athlete published her autobiography "In the Water They Can't See You Cry." She writes about how she struggled with her parents' divorce and a period as a teen during which she was bulimic, abused drugs and alcohol and started cutting herself with a razor.

Here's a glimpse of what Amanda had to say in a recent interview in USAToday …

"Anytime you let loose any sort of personal information about yourself, it's a nerve-wracking experience because you are being completely open and honest with people and they can interpret things however they want. Of course I'm nervous of how people are going to react. At the same time, it's my life. That's what I went through. I can't change things to please people.
I think that as a human and as someone who speaks to a lot of females and young athletes, I don't feel like it's fair to them to go around telling my story without being realistic and honest. I'm telling them, hey, life is a roller coaster and we will all experience ups and downs. To what severity, we'll differ. But you're not alone ever in your life and other people are going through the things you are experiencing. So I just didn't want people to think and look at me like, she led this great life and won a bunch of medals and she's one of those lucky ones. I don't think it's fair to put out that image.

It's been a long time since I've done that stuff. I can't say I ever had a breakthrough. It's a life-long process of being happy and healthy. I think everyone goes through that. Not everyone cuts themselves or has body issues. But you learn coping mechanisms, you learn how to talk to people. It's a life-long process of working on yourself and figuring out how to stay happy and healthy."

Amanda also has a blog Swimlikeamom, here's a post all about how she uses goals to make changes in her life …thanks for the heads up Amanda, let's hope it gets you to 2016.

"Each day when you wake up you should have goals in mind: How can I be better today? How can I be a better mom, wife or friend?

Pushing yourself is the only way to grow and improve. While daily or short-term objectives are important, you should also keep a bigger picture in mind – making weekly, monthly and yearly goals. Goals can be as minor as striving to squeeze in a workout at lunch or as large as working towards achieving “employee or athlete of the year.”

For a little motivation and direction, I’ll give you a little taste of the goals I set for myself. Obviously these are for swimming, but they can be applied to anything you strive for in your life. I always approach a workout with more challenging times I would like to achieve during a swim. If I happen to fall short of my goal, I use the disappointment to fire me up to train the next day. As a long-term goal, I am aiming to compete in my fifth Olympic Games – without daily goals as stepping stones, I would not get anywhere close.

Goals are important for everyone. Focus on where you want to be in the next five to ten years of your life and put the ball in motion.

Set your goals TODAY. Good luck!"

Check out Amanda's Blog