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Against the odds: an interview with Amy Van Dyken

by Karen Asp

Amy Van Dyken is a self-proclaimed, former nerd whose high school swimming mates once refused to swim with her because she was slow. She's also been called unsportsman-like for the staring, grunting, and spitting she does before races to intimidate opponents. Yet she is one of the world's best swimmers, and she is out to defend her gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics, no matter what the odds.

Van Dyken received national attention when, after success at Colorado State University, she was named the National Collegiate Athletic Association's swimmer of the year in 1994. She then joined the U.S. National Resident Team in Colorado Springs.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Van Dyken took the spotlight, becoming the first American woman to win four gold medals in one Olympics. She won gold as an individual in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly and as part of the 400-meter freestyle relay and 400-meter medley relay teams. Then in 1998, she took three gold medals at the world championships in Perth, Australia.

She's now training for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, with two health conditions that she refuses to succumb to.

In 1998, Van Dyken experienced a devastating shoulder injury doing a weightlifting exercise called a snatch drop. Many believed she would never swim again. But Amy had other plans. No stranger to adversity, Van Dyken has battled severe asthma all her life. At six, she could barely walk up stairs without suffering an asthma attack. That same year, her doctor suggested swimming to help relieve her asthma. Not until she was twelve could she swim one length of the pool. Even during the 1996 Olympics, leg cramps and breathing difficulties after the 100-meter freestyle, in which she finished fourth, sent her to the ground.

HealthGate's Karen Asp talked with Van Dyken about her health problems and her ability to overcome them.

HealthGate: In 1998, you experienced a devastating injury, a tear in your shoulder cartilage from weight lifting. What happened and how serious was the injury?

Amy: I was lifting weights and doing an exercise that isn't good for swimmers. I had completed the exercise and felt my shoulder pop out of place. I thought it would go away so I didn't go to the doctor for a while. But my shoulder kept tearing and popping out. When I went to the doctor, I found out I'd torn my labrum (cartilage in the shoulder). I had a thermo-capsular reduction, which is where they shrink the shoulder joint with a laser. For lots of people, this is a career-ending injury.

Describe the surgery and rehabilitation process.

The surgery was easy. I was asleep. But I'm still going to rehab three times a week. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. Sometimes I just break down and cry because it hurts so much. But I know I'm not going to be injury free until I stop swimming. Every day's a struggle. I just keep telling myself that I can't give up, that I can do this.

How did you deal with the injury emotionally?

It was hard knowing that one day I'm on top of the world and ranked number one in the world and the next day I'm told that I may never swim again. But I kept telling myself that I'd gone through this before with my asthma. With this injury, people said I wouldn't be in the water for at least two more years. But I got back in the water. And I've been able to work through it.

What was it like to jump back in the pool after that injury? What modifications did you have to make in your workouts?

It was frustrating. It took me several months to swim an entire workout. I still can't take a pain-free stroke. I've also had bad bursitis and I swam through it, which I shouldn't have done. Recently, I got back in the water because of acupuncture. The first time I did it, the acupuncturist said I wouldn't be able to tell a difference until I started swimming. That night I slept with my arm over my head, which I hadn't been able to do since before my surgery. Now I can even sleep on my shoulder. But I can't do butterfly anymore. That's been hard to deal with, especially being the defending Olympic champion. I also have to use fins more in my workouts which was a tough adjustment at first. But with fins, I can work on my stroke more.

What lessons have you learned from your injury?

You have to be careful in the weight room. Do proper lifts. And don't do anything that looks cool because it's usually not.

You've often said you weren't like other kids when you were young. How did asthma affect you?

I couldn't go outside and play at recess. I had a hard time participating in gym class. That was hard to deal with because you see friends doing a bunch of things that you want to do, but you can't. And you feel like you're the only one who has this problem.

How hard is it today to deal with your asthma?

I still breathe at only 65% of normal. To control it, I take inhalers and pills every day. I can't forget that I have it. The second I forget, it'll start controlling me, and you can't do that. You have to take your medications even when you're not experiencing symptoms. That's the most important thing I had to learn. I would get caught up in how good I felt and I wouldn't take my medications, and then later I'd end up in the emergency room.

Because of your asthma, people have often told you that you can't do things. Why have you chosen not to believe them?

I'm kind of stubborn. And I hate the word can't. When people tell me I can't do something, I think it's because they think I'm going to do it better than them.

Last reviewed: November 1999 by HealthGate Medical Review Board.

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Keywords: Amy Van Dyken, swimming, asthma, injury, shoulder, labrum, Olympics, gold medals