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 h
National Resident Team in Colorado Springs. She soon left CSU to train full time with the U. " After her wins in Atlanta Amy was presented with a slew of awards including Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, USOC Sports Woman of the Year, the Woman's Sports Foundation Woman of the Year, and the USA Swimming Swimmer of the Year. Along with all her training Amy began shying away from the graceful and shyness that other champion swimmers such as Summer Sanders or Janet Evans possessed. She continually works to inspire children "not to let anyone hold you back, and to follow your own dream, and to always aim for the stars. All of this has appeared to help her out greatly in many races, although with her talent psyching opponents out doesn't seem necessary because she has most swimmers beat before the beginning of the race. She enjoyed early success, but a sever case of Mononucleosis caused Amy to quit swimming for a short time, in the summer of 1993. This mental toughness has allowed Amy to become the champion she is today. Wanting independence and her desire to leave home, Amy decided to attend the University of Arizona for college. She aspires to teach at a high school or work with deaf children. Before her races Amy, would look for way to psyche her opponents out, by clapping, staring them down, or spitting. It tries to spread the message that asthma doesn't have to hold people back from anything that they want to do. " Not only does Amy work with asthma awareness but she also knows sign language and enjoys working with Make-A-Wish and United Way, among other groups with children in mind. Not only does she inspire children every where to go forward and reach their goals no matter what obstacle is in the way, she is also very involved in the Asthma- All Stars program, a group of athletes dedicated to raising asthma awareness.
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