Take a victory lap with The World's Sexiest Athlete
“After my last FHM shoot during the 2004 games, people were like, ‘Wow, she’s grown up,’” says the now 24-year-old Amanda. “And it’s not only because I was in a sexy bikini but I also took on my own business ventures and I’m really in control of what is going on around me.”
That control has turned her into the Tiger Woods of swimming. Amanda gets a cool $15,000 per speaking engagement. She has signed a $1 million contract to advertise Speedo’s Axcelerate line. Throw in endorsement deals with Oroweat Bread, Red Bull and Penta water, and a signature line of fragrance products, and Amanda can earn up to $100 million by 2010. Is there anything she can’t do? “I can’t stop laughing every time I hear someone call me the World’s Sexiest Athlete,” she says. “I don’t look in the mirror and go, ‘Wow, I’m sexy.’” Amanda, perhaps you should take a look at these photos before you decide.
Do famous guys constantly ask for your phone number?
Sometimes, but it’s embarrassing anytime a guy asks for my number indirectly. That’s not cool. If you want to go out on a date with me, ask me. I’ve had famous guys try to go through my agent, but I’m stingy with my number.
Would you have been able to hang out in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s pit before winning an Olympic gold medal?
That sounds dirty. You shouldn’t say that since my ex-boyfriend Carl Edwards races against him. I’ve been in his pit a lot. Actually, I had liked NASCAR for a long time, but obviously while I was dating Carl I had more of an emotional attachment to it, more of a “please don’t crash and die” kind of attachment. Like, when I’m swimming and I’m competing, I don’t even care. I’m completely calm, but when I was with Carl, I was a nervous wreck every race. I don’t run the risk of dying while I’m swimming. So after the race, I was always like, “OK, it was a good race because you’re alive.”
You once said you wouldn’t date a guy shorter than 6-foot-4. Aren’t race-car drivers short?
He’s one of the taller drivers on the circuit, so it was OK. He’s like 6-foot-1, so he passed the height test. But as a general rule, race-car drivers are very short. I would never date a guy who was shorter than me.
Why is a famous Nextel Cup driver an ex-boyfriend?
I’m a really laid-back, chilled-out person. I’m a surfer girl from Southern California, and when you date a race-car driver, there’s so much stress. Race-car drivers are too intense for me. There’s no way you could get me to jump in a car and go 200 mph around the track slamming into people. You have to be an intense person to handle those race cars, and I’m not.
What’s harder: winning a NASCAR Nextel Cup race or a gold medal?
Definitely winning a gold medal is harder. I think that’s way hard, because you get that opportunity only once every four years, so if you screw up for one race, you’re screwed for four more years. In racing, if you don’t do well in one race, oh well, there’s another one a week later.
Give us some of the stranger requests you’ve received since the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
I’ve been asked to do a couple of reality shows. I’m not really ready for that kind of stuff yet, because it cuts into my training, and I don’t want to be known as a “has-been.” The Surreal Life wanted me. I think it’s a hilarious show and I love watching it, but wait until I have some crazy meltdown at a race first.
Have you finally allowed yourself to skinny-dip in a pool?
I just got a pool in my backyard. It’s so private, why would you wear a swimsuit? Now it’s annoying to swim when I have to wear a bathing suit. I’d much rather be in the pool naked, but most of the time I’d get in trouble. I told people there’s a “no swimsuit” rule for my pool. I don’t know if people will go for it, but I’m having a bachelorette party this weekend, so we’ll find out. A bunch of naked girls in my pool. Isn’t that perfect for FHM? Maybe we’ll all have a pillow fight afterward.
Yes, yes it is. Do you walk around the house naked?
The thing that’s great about my house is that it’s very private. You could lie out with no clothes on. I can walk around the house naked anytime, and I definitely take advantage of that. Being naked is no big deal in my house.
Have you ever gotten it on in a swimming pool?
Not yet. Never gotten naughty in a pool.
A car?
Who doesn’t get naughty in a car? But I’m not giving you any stories. There are no G-rated stories when it comes to that stuff. I’ll just say this: It’s much easier in the back seat. There’s too much stuff to maneuver around in the front seat.
Let’s turn to swimming. With no free time, is the Beijing Olympics in 2008 a realistic goal?
Oh, I’ve still got skills. I’ve got mad skills! I’m still motivated to swim. I love it. I have fun when I’m in the pool competing. The one place I feel completely at home is in the water. Like, I feel weird when I’m out of the water because I’m really clumsy on land, but as soon as I jump in the pool, it’s so comforting. I might as well be a mermaid. I’ve been doing it for 20 years now, and it still feels good, so yeah, my goal is to definitely compete
at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
And it would be hard to leave any job that requires you to wear a bathing suit every day.
I feel very comfortable in a bathing suit, but I think people don’t understand. They’re like, “How can you pose in bikinis and little skimpy outfits?” I’m like, “I go to the office in a two-piece swimsuit.” It’s not weird for me at all to hang out in a bikini. As soon as you put clothes on me, I’m like, “What’s going on?” I feel awkward in clothes. So me in a swimsuit, swimming in a pool, I’m happy. I mean it. On land, I’m so clumsy. I’m all Three Stooges combined into one.
Finally, did you get a world of grief for telling us last time you wedge your swimsuit up your butt?
I get made fun of for that constantly, but I don’t care. I still wedge the swimsuit up my butt. That’s not going away until my butt is way too big and just doesn’t look good. That’s a problem I’ll have to deal with one day. When I stop swimming, then I’ll have to worry.