Video: Olympics 2008: Megan Jendrick

Larger screen

TACOMA, Wash. – As a Puyallup teenager, she boasted about winning at the Olympics and backed it up with two solid gold performances.

But that was eight years ago for breaststroke specialist Megan Jendrick, who is trying to make it to Beijing after missing out on the Athens Olympics in 2004.

"I'm back and I'm going for the gold medals this year. I'm definitely going for it," says Megan.

It sounds similar to what she said when she was 16-year-old, going to the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

"I'm going to race my heart out and I'm going to win that gold," said Megan back when her last name was Quann.

She came home with two gold medals, had her own parade, made the cover of Sports Illustrated, threw out the first pitch at Safeco Field and was showered with honors, including a lifetime pass to the Puyallup Fair.

KING

Megan Jendrick, who won two gold medals at the 2000 Olympics, is training to make the team going to Beijing.

She kept training, but at the 2004 Olympic Trials, she lost out on joining the U.S. team again by 0.11 seconds.

"After just missing out on the team by a couple of hundredths, I just decided I've gotten a lot out of the sport, but its time to move on and do something else."

After months out of the water and on the couch, she was asked by King Aquatic Club coach Sean Hutchison to help out with the four and five-year-olds.

Suddenly, swimming was fun again.

"Just watching them. That was what really made me want to come back and swim and race. Just seeing how much fun they had and that's what I really missed was having fun."

And now she's putting up impressive times, medaling at international meets, showing that the Puget Sound area may be represented in Beijing by a breaststroking double threat, along with Bremerton's Tara Kirk.

Megan is having fun, but bearing down too.

"The focus is astounding. If you watch Tiger Woods and you can see his focus compared to other golfers, she's like that," says Hutchinson.

There's more balance in her world than there was eight years ago. She married her high school boyfriend and longtime fitness coach Nathan. They have two dogs and use their modest Tacoma home as the base for his writing and internet broadcast work and her life as a pro swimmer.

They've even written a book together, "Get Wet, Get Fit: The Complete Guide to a Getting a Swimmer's Body," and seem quite comfortable as a team.

"She likes cookies and ice cream, and what athlete doesn't? Its my job to be the bad guy, to say you probably don't want that. Lets go with the protein shake or the chicken breast instead," says Nathan.

They're the small sacrifices Megan is willing to make for an Olymp;ic payoff.

"Making this Olympic team, especially in China where swimming is the No.1 sport, I think will be an amazing experience," says Megan.

Megan's times in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke recently has helped qualify her to swim six different events at the Olympic trials later this month.