Amy Van Dyken: "Whatever it Takes"
             Amy Van Dyken was the first American woman to win four gold medals in one Olympics; she did this in the 1996 Summer Olympic games in Atlanta. Amy overcame severe childhood asthma and early struggles in the sport of swimming to accomplish these goals.
             Amy Van Dyken was born on February 15, 1973 in Englewood Colorado. During her childhood Amy suffered from asthma so severe she could hardly climb a flight of stairs without collapsing. She was diagnosed with three types of asthma that interfered with everything she did from sleeping to laughing. The three types she was diagnosed with were exercise-induced asthma, allergy-induced asthma, and infection-induced asthma.
             When Amy was six years old, her doctor suggested that she should take up swimming, because it would improve her lung capacity. Because of her asthma, she could not swim the length of the pool until she was 12. When she was younger Amy said, "People told me when I was growing up, 'Oh you can't do that.' So I went out there and showed them that I can." With this drive and determination she slowly began to see improvement.
             In high school, Amy has said that she was so bad most of her teammates did not want to swim on relays with her. But by the end of her high school swimming career Amy had improved enough to become a state swimmer and was a recruiter favorite. Wanting independence and her desire to leave home, Amy decided to attend the University of Arizona for college. She enjoyed early success, but a sever case of Mononucleosis caused Amy to quit swimming for a short time, in the summer of 1993. However, taking that summer off helped her to realize how much she loved the sport and also how much she truly missed it.
             In 1994, Amy decided to transfer to Colorado State University, and at the NCAA Championships won gold in the 50-yard freestyle and went on to be named female NCAA Swimmer of the Year...