Great early artifact from the swimming career of 7-time Olympic medalist Amanda Beard. Blue First Place ribbon is from the Irvine Novaquatics Swim Meet when Beard was just 13 years old, and included are printout details that the meet was held on September 25, 1994, and lists her time in the "100 Yards 11 & 12 Breaststroke" at 1:07.45. Less than two years later - still only at age 14 - she burst onto the scene at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where she became the second-youngest American to earn an Olympic medal. She is, perhaps, not as well remembered for the one Gold and two Silver medals as much as the ubiquitous teddy bear under her arm which accompanied her throughout her journey, including to the Olympic medal stand. It served as a stark reminder that this world-class athlete and international champion was still just entering her teens.