Amy Van Dyken thrived on being told she couldn’t accomplish something. Her desire to succeed carried her to six Olympic gold medals in swimming.
Van Dyken won four gold medals, including the 50-meter freestyle and 100 butterfly, at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and two more at the Summer Games in Sydney in 2000.
Van Dyken has moved on to another dream: being connected to the Broncos, her favorite team, as the sideline reporter for KOA radio. The Olympics seem a long time ago.
“It really doesn’t seem like it was me who did all that,” Van Dyken said about her swimming career. “I know the medals are real and I appreciate them as much as ever, but it doesn’t seem real to me now.”
Van Dyken didn’t just make a name for herself in swimming, but also a name stamped with her personality.
“Absolutely, I had an attitude,” Van Dyken said. “I had two different personalities. My personality out of the pool was much different than when I was competing.”
Maybe Van Dyken’s competitive trademark was confirmed in one of her last races in Sydney. The media made a big thing of Van Dyken spitting into the lane of a competitor while preparing for the race.
“I had done that from my high school days on up,” Van Dyken said. “I knew I did some things that might be considered unattractive such as grunting, but I’m an open person. I don’t hide much.”
Van Dyken grew up with the burden of fighting asthma. She’s allergic to chlorine, which was an added concern about swimming.
“I tried everything,” she said. “I played soccer, softball and even won the high jump in the Junior Olympics. When I tried gymnastics, they saw how tall (6 feet) I was and just said, ‘Take her home.”‘
Once committed to swimming, Van Dyken didn’t look back. She lived at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for six years and credits the coaching she received there – as well as at Colorado State University from John Mattos – for her success. Van Dyken is to be inducted Oct. 24 into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame.
“Having worked with many athletes at that level, you find the very good ones have an attitude,” said Jonty Skinner, one of Van Dyken’s primary coaches. “You can’t train an athlete to be that way. They either have it or they don’t have it. I’d want my athletes to have that trait.”
“I really liked to prove people wrong when they said I wouldn’t be a great athlete,” Van Dyken said. “I always liked to win, and I loved the attention. I’m a ham. My dad claimed I got my competitive spirit from watching (‘Rocky IV’) when he fought the Russian.”
Van Dyken remains the only U.S. woman to win Olympic gold in the 50 freestyle. Her lone regret is not setting an Olympic record in the event.
Van Dyken’s other side is as forceful.
“The response I get from young people who still appreciate what I did still means the most to me,” Van Dyken said. “There are things that tug at my heartstrings, things like causes for battered women or to help children with handicaps.”
Amy Van Dyken bio
Born: Feb. 15, 1973, Aurora
High school: Cherry Creek, 1987-1991
Colleges: Arizona, 1991-92; CSU, 1992-94
Favorite Olympics: Atlanta, 1996
Best friend: Georgia, Labrador retriever
Favorite Broncos players: Tom Rouen (husband), John Elway
Favorite Rockies players: Dante Bichette, Todd Helton
Recreation: Biking, hiking
Favorite food: Sushi
Current activity: Sideline reporter, Broncos games, KOA radio 850 AM
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
