Das Women
Olympic Swimmer Amanda Beard Talks Beijing 2008
August 01, 2008
Odds are you know dick about swimming. And that’s OK. It ranks somewhere between timber sports and cricket on the American sports passion meter. But you probably know Amanda Beard. The seven-time medalist has transcended the two-week focus on aquatic racing that rolls into the world consciousness every four years. It doesn’t hurt that she’s been on the cover of FHM, Playboy and featured in Sports Illustrated’s iconic swimsuit issue. Beard has snagged another cover, only this time she’s gracing the frontside Beijing 2008, from Sega. As it turns out, she’s actually a gamer herself. Check the interview and gallery after the jump.
Das Gamer: How long have you been playing video games?
Amanda Beard: My older brothers and I played games from when we were young. I was addicted to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I played that game a lot. I was the best at the Nintendo Power Pad. My family used to play World Class Track Meet on that. It was quite a workout.
That’s old school. Do you still play games?
Recently, I’ve gotten into games again. My boyfriend is into SOCOM so when I have time to relax I jump on and play with him.
So you play first-person shooters?
I’m not so good at it. I like playing Jaws Unleashed. I know that sounds stupid, but I like playing as the shark and destroying ships and eating the divers. Those are my kind of games.
So you guys don’t have any of the new consoles?
We need to upgrade, but we play on PlayStation 2.
Have you tried the Wii at all?
I love playing the Wii. We do it at parties and stuff. I make people bring it over so we can play bowling and tennis and stuff. I haven’t tried the Mario and Sonic Olympic Games yet, but it sounds right up my alley–a little bit of old school with a little bit of new school. Perfect.
As an athlete, what are your thoughts on the physical nature of Wii’s gameplay?
I think it’s great for kids, especially. Kids love playing videogames but to get them off the couch and playing around and getting interactive is fantastic. It’s like getting exercise while playing videogames. This should have been invented a long, long time ago. I think it will help with our obesity problem with younger kids.
It’s like a next gen version of your old Power Pad.
I know. And I love the Power Pad. I had that thing until a couple of years ago when my parents threw it out. I was pissed.
What do you think of Sega’s new Beijing 2008 Olympics game?
Swimming is really hard in the game. The first couple of times I played I was really bad. I spent an hour and a half on the game because I couldn’t walk away without a half-decent score in swimming.
–John Gaudiosi
Catch Amanda swimming for real and going for her third gold medal when the Olympic swimming events crank up on August 9.
2 Responses to “Olympic Swimmer Amanda Beard Talks Beijing 2008”
There are much hotter babe athletes than Amanda Beard. But, I appreciate her love of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the power pad.
By chubbylover69 on Aug 3, 2008
Hello,
May I suggest a link related to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games?
Our site:
URL: http://www.2008chinaolympics.com
Title: Beijing Olympics
Please let me know if you want a link back.
Many thanks for your reply.
Best Regards,
Don
chinaolympics8@gmail.com
By Don on Aug 7, 2008