Her success in swimming won her a wide variety of awards and accolades, including: the ESPN Awards ( ESPY) Female Athlete of the Year award Swimming World magazine's female Swimmer of the Year award induction into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame induction into the US Olympic Hall of Fame named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, USOC Sports Woman of the Year, the Women's Sports Foundation Sports Woman of the Year and USA Swimming Swimmer of the Year. Olympic competition 1996 Summer Olympics Īt the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Van Dyken became the first American female athlete in to win 4 gold medals in a single Olympic games. After college, she moved to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to train full-time for the 1996 Olympics. In 1994 she was named the NCAA Female Swimmer of the Year. She also placed second in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard freestyle to Olympian Jenny Thompson. After high school, Van Dyken attended the University of Arizona for two years before transferring to Colorado State University, where she broke her first (of many more to come) United States record with a time of 21.77 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships in 1994. Olympic Trials, Van Dyken placed 4th in the 50-meter freestyle, just missing the Olympic team. On June 6, 2014, Van Dyken was injured in a serious ATV accident that severed her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.Īt the 1992 U.S. She was named Swimming World 's American Swimmer of the Year in 19. She began swimming on the advice of a doctor as a way to strengthen her lungs to cope with her condition and prevent future asthma attacks. Van Dyken had severe asthma throughout her childhood and into adulthood. She won gold in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and 4×100-meter medley relay. She won six Olympic gold medals in her career, four of which she won at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making her the first American woman to accomplish such a feat and the most successful athlete at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Amy Deloris Van Dyken-Rouen (born February 15, 1973) is an American former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, former world record-holder, and national radio sports talk show co-host.
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