Amy Van Dyken

Amy Van Dyken’s Main Accomplishments Include . . .
In 1996, Amy Van Dyken became the first American woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympic Games. An instant celebrity, Amy Van Dyken was featured on cover of a Wheaties box and underwater in a Milk Industry ad. The year of her Olympic glory, Amy Van Dyken was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, USOC Sports Woman of the Year, ESPN-ESPY Female Athlete of the Year, the Women’s Sports Foundation Sports Woman of the Year and USA Swimming Swimmer of the Year. She was also featured as one of Glamour magazine’s Top 10 Women of the Year, named one of 25 most influential females in sport by Women’s Sports and Fitness magazine and received the ARETE Courage in Sports award. Van Dyken is the American record-holder in 50y free and former American record-holder in 50m free.

More on Amy Van Dyken . . .
In 1996, Amy Van Dyken became the first American woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics; she won two individual and two relay medals.

Her own mental toughness and relentlessness allowed her to become a champion. Following a doctor’s advice, Amy began swimming at six years old in an effort to relieve childhood asthma. At eleven, she was still unable to swim the length of a pool. When she finely made it, Amy knew she had a strong "will to win." To the delight of her American fans, that strength made her a star in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta despite the fact that breathing difficulties limit her to only about 65% of normal lung capacity.

Amy Van Dyken knows American Sign Language and enjoys working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the United Way.