Amy Van Dyken

1973-

American swimmer

Champion swimmer Amy Van Dyken began swimming at age six to help in her battle against asthma. She could not swim the full length of an Olympic-size pool until age twelve, but by college she was highly decorated for her speed and ability. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, she and her teams placed first in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 400-meter freestyle relay, and 400-meter medley relay. These victories made her the first American woman to win four gold medals in one Olympic Games. In spite of two shoulder surgeries, Van Dyken returned to the Olympics in 2000 to win two more gold medals in relays, for a total of six. Since retiring from swimming after the Sydney, Australia, games, Van Dyken has taken up a new sport, the triathlon.

Swimming to Control Asthma

Amy Deloris Van Dyken was born February 15, 1973, in Englewood, Colorado, the daughter of Don Van Dyken, president of a computer software company, and Becky Van Dyken. She has a brother and a sister. From the age of ten months, Amy suffered from asthma and allergies that prevented her from joining other children in activities such as school field trips and overnight stays with friends. When she was six, her doctor prescribed swimming for the beneficial moisture in the air and because it requires control of breathing. Although she could not swim the full length of an Olympic-size pool without stopping until she was twelve, Amy kept swimming and fell in love with the sport.

By the time she entered Cherry Creek High School, Van Dyken was six feet tall and a self-described "nerd," who was shunned by other swimmers on the high school team. They called her too slow, threw her clothes in the pool, and spit at her. But Van Dyken, with her strong competitive drive, overcame the insults and worked harder. By her junior year, she was the star of Cherry Creek's swim team, earning six All-American honors, setting three state records, and breaking five school

records. She was named Colorado Swimmer of the Year and was sought by colleges throughout the West.

Success in College

Beginning her career at the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 1991, Van Dyken barely missed making the 1992 U.S. Olympic team as a freshman, when she finished fourth in the 50-meter freestyle swim. However, she went on to win silver medals at the 1992 U.S. Swimming Championships and took a second and a third place at the 1993 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Swimming Championships. She earned All-American honors fourteen times while at Arizona but was not happy with her progress there and transferred to Colorado State University for her junior year. There she earned numerous awards. Her coach, John Mattos, called her "the type of athlete most coaches only dream about having in their program."

Van Dyken set a new American record at the NCAA Championships in 1994, winning the women's 50-meter freestyle at 21.77 seconds. She earned more All-American honors, was named National Swimmer of the Year, and won a bronze and two silver medals at the World Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy. In 1995 she won three gold medals and one silver at the Pan American Games.

Van Dyken's college success led to the offer of a place on the U.S. Resident National Team, where she would train for the Olympics. Although she did not want to leave Colorado State, she accepted the invitation, as her chance to go for Olympic gold.

1996 Olympic Superstar

In the 1996 Olympic Trials, Van Dyken finished in first place in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races and second in the 100-meter butterfly race. In addition to these three events, she would also swim in the women's relays at the Olympics in Atlanta.

Chronology

Awards and Accomplishments

In her first event, the 100-meter freestyle, Van Dyken was extremely nervous and finished in fourth place, lying at the side of the pool suffering from leg and neck cramps. But she bounced back after this disappointment and won a gold medal as part of the women's 400-meter freestyle relay team, swimming the second fastest relay leg ever, at 53.91 seconds. She then won the 100-meter butterfly—which she had qualified for but had not practiced—with a time of 59.13 seconds, beating world champion Liu Limin of China by one one-hundredth of a second. Van Dyken's third gold medal came as part of the 400-meter medley relay team, and her fourth in the 50-meter relay. Just before that final race, she later told how she gave world champion Le Jingyi of China a nasty look, clapped her hands at her, and spat pool water in her lane. Van Dyken beat Jingyi with a time of 24.87 seconds-three one-hundredths of a second ahead of the champion, and set a new American record. The win earned Van Dyken the title of world's fastest female swimmer. She told the press, "This victory is for all the nerds out there. For all the kids who are struggling, I hope I'm an inspiration for them to keep plugging away."

Van Dyken's four Olympic gold medals made her an overnight superstar. She was named Sportswoman of the Year by both the Associated Press and the U.S. Olympic Committee. She received a visit from U.S. President Bill Clinton and made numerous television appearances. Her gold medal wins put her in the category of Olympic greats Janet Evans, Florence Griffith-Joyner , and Melissa Belote, each of whom won three gold medals in an Olympics.

Road to a Second Olympics

After Atlanta, Van Dyken took some time off for a honeymoon with then husband Alan McDaniel and earned money from product endorsements. But she soon resumed training and won two gold medals at the World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia, early in 1998. That June, however, she had the first of two shoulder surgeries to repair injuries and a bone spur. After the second surgery in January 2000, doctors told her she would never swim competitively again. She proved them wrong.

Van Dyken qualified for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and there won two more gold medals-one as part of the women's 400-meter freestyle relay and the other for her performance in swimming preliminaries of the 400-meter medley relay. On her team in the 400 freestyle were Americans Jenny Thompson , Dara Torres, and Courtney Shealy. The team broke the world record for the event, with a time of 3:36.61 (the former record, 3:37.91, was set by a Chinese team in 1994). Van Dyken placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle race, which she had won in 1996.

After bringing home her sixth Olympic gold medal, in the fall of 2000, Van Dyken announced her retirement from swimming. By the following year, however, she had turned her attention to a new sport, the triathlon, which combines swimming, biking, and running in what can be the most grueling of sports. She competed in triathlons beginning in June 2001, with the possible goal of competing in the Hawaiian Ironman-a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile run-in 2003.

Amy Van Dyken has proved that athletic ability and a drive to succeed can help overcome many physical obstacles. In 2000 she participated in an asthma education campaign, the Asthma All-Stars, cosponsored by five medical and respiratory organizations. An outcast in her own early high school years, she has also been active in helping the survivors of the 1999 Columbine (Colorado) High School shootings, participating in school events and talking one-on-one with students. Her four gold medals and record-breaking 50-meter race in the 1996 Olympics put Van Dyken into the Olympic history books. Her spunk and competitive drive have won many fans and supporters along the way, and they continue to cheer her on in her quest for victory in the triathlon.

Van Dyken Is Toughing It Out

[Amy] Van Dyken, who hopes to make it back from major shoulder injuries …, has raised the pre-race psyche-job to an art form. She will do just about anything she can think of within legal limits—or nearly so—to distract and demoralize foes just before the start of races. The imposing 6-footer will grunt, spit into the opponents' lane, stick out her tongue at them, clap her hands or simply lock on with a cold, Mike Tyson-style stare.

Source: Harris, Stephen. Boston Herald (May 28, 2000): B2.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o U.S. Swimming, Inc., 1 Olympic Plaza, Bldg. 2A, Colorado Springs, CO 80909-5770.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Great Women in Sports. "Amy Van Dyken." Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1996.

Newsmakers 1997. Issue 4. "Amy Van Dyken." Detroit: Gale Group, 1997.

Sports Stars. Series 1-4. "Amy Van Dyken." Detroit: U•X•L, 1994-98.

Periodicals

"Amy Van Dyken: Winner of 4 Gold Medals in Swimming in the Olympics Enjoys Post-Olympics Fame." People (December 30, 1996): 152.

Harris, Stephen. "Van Dyken Is Toughing It Out: U.S. Swimming Star Shows Nose for Winning—and a Heart for Healing—As She Makes Comeback." Boston Herald (May 28, 2000): B2.

"Olympic Notebook: Van Dyken Says This Is Last Games; Swimmer: Body Starting to Wear Down." Seattle Times (September 1, 2000): D12.

Other

"Amy Van Dyken Returns to the Water." USA Swimming. http://cgi.swimmersworld.com/news/ (July 10, 2001).

"'Asthma All-Stars' Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Amy Van Dyken and Jerome Bettis to Appear in New Asthma Education Campaign." PR Newswire. http://galenet.galegroup.com/ (June 28, 2000).

"Olympic Wrap Up." Compiled from usswim.org. The Victor.com. http://www.thevictor.com (January 21, 2003).

Parrish, Paula (Scripps Howard News Service).

"Olympic Gold-Medal Swimmer Amy Van Dyken Plunges into Triathlon." Active.com. http://www.active.com/ (January 8, 2003).

Rainsberger, Lisa, and Tri Digest. "Van Dyken Completes First Triathlon." Triathlete Online. http://www.winningmag.com/news/ (January 14, 2003).

"U.S. Men, Women Set World Records in Relays: Olympics 2000." SportsLine.com Wire Reports. http://cbs.sportsline.com/ (September 23, 2000).

Zinser, Lynn. "Amy Van Dyken to Take Home Matched Set of Four Gold Medals." Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. http://galenet.galegroup.com/ (July 27, 1996).

Sketch by Ann H. Shurgin