NEWS
April 2, 1996 | WENDY WITHERSPOON and MARTIN HENDERSON, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Amanda Beard doesn't believe in luck. It wasn't luck, she said, that crowned her with championships in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic trials in Indianapolis last month. It wasn't luck that pushed her to the wall in 2 minutes 26.25 seconds in the 200, the second-fastest time ever by an American woman. And it wasn't that teddy bear either. At the trials, 14-year-old Beard carried a teddy bear around the pool deck.