Frank Thomas

Van Dyken Notable Sports Figures
Chronology
1973 Born February 15 in Englewood, Colorado
1979 Takes up swimming on doctor’s advice, to help with asthma
1990-91 Becomes star of Cherry Creek High School swim team
1991-93 Attends University of Arizona at Tucson; earns All-American
honors fourteen times; in 1992 just misses a place on the U.S.
Olympic swim team; suffers from mononucleosis in 1993 and
says she will give up swimming but comes back
1994 Transfers to Colorado State University, where she sets seven
school and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) records as a
junior; wins three medals at World Swimming Championships
in Rome, Italy
1995 Wins three gold medals and one silver medal at Pan American
Games; accepts invitation to join U.S. Resident National Team
to train for Olympics but has to give up last season at
Colorado State; marries Alan McDaniel in October—the couple
will later divorce
1996 Qualifies for U.S. Olympic team; wins 50-meter and 100-meter
freestyle races and finishes second in 100-meter butterfly at
Olympic Trials; places fourth in 100-meter freestyle at
Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, but goes on to win four
Olympic gold medals and becomes an international celebrity
1997 Resumes training, for World Swimming Championships
1998 Wins two gold medals at World Swimming Championships in
Perth, Australia; has shoulder surgery in June to repair a tear
2000 In January, has another shoulder surgery to repair rotator cuff,
remove scar tissue, and shave bone spurs; surgeons say she
will never race again; qualifies for U.S. Olympic team and
competes in 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, placing
fourth in 50-meter and winning two more gold medals in
women’s relays
2001 Marries Tom Rouen, punter for the Denver Broncos football
team; finishes sixth place in her first triathlon on February 24
in Colorado Springs; finishes second triathlon in July 2001;
begins working part-time as sports reporter for a Denver
television station
2002 Continues to train as triathlete, setting her sights on 2003
Hawaiian Ironman Championships
ferred to Colorado State University for her junior year.
There she earned numerous awards. Her coach, John
Mattos, called her “the type of athlete most coaches
only dream about having in their program.”
Van Dyken set a new American record at the NCAA
Championships in 1994, winning the women’s 50-meter
freestyle at 21.77 seconds. She earned more All-American
honors, was named National Swimmer of the Year,
and won a bronze and two silver medals at the World
Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy. In 1995 she
won three gold medals and one silver at the Pan American
Games.
Van Dyken’s college success led to the offer of a
place on the U.S. Resident National Team, where she
would train for the Olympics. Although she did not want
to leave Colorado State, she accepted the invitation, as
her chance to go for Olympic gold.
1996 Olympic Superstar
In the 1996 Olympic Trials, Van Dyken finished in
first place in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races
and second in the 100-meter butterfly race. In addition
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Awards and Accomplishments
1990-91 Earned six high school All-American honors, set three state
records, and broke five school marks in swimming; earned
Colorado Swimmer of the Year honors
1991 Named Colorado Swimmer of the Year
1992 Silver medals in 50-meter and 50-yard freestyle races at U.S.
Swimming Championships
1993 Finished second in 50-meter freestyle and third in 100-meter
butterfly at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Swimming Championships
1994 Set seven school and Western Athletic Conference (WAC)
records at Colorado State University; named Colorado State’s
1994 Female Athlete of the Year; given Joe Kearney Award by
WAC as best females athlete of the year; set new American
record at NCAA Swimming Championships, winning women’s
50-meter freestyle in 21.77 seconds, becoming only the
second woman in the world to break the 22-second barrier in
this event; named NCAA Swimmer of the Year; earned All-
American honors in 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle
relay, and 200-meter medley relay; named Collegiate
Swimming Coaches Athletic Association National Swimmer of
the Year; inducted into Sportswomen of Colorado Hall of
Fame; won silver medals in 400-meter freestyle and 400meter
medley relays and a bronze medal in 50-yard freestyle
at World Championships
1995 Won three gold medals and one silver at Pan American Games;
named Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine
1996 Won four gold medals in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,
Georgia, in 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 400-meter
freestyle relay, and 400-meter medley relay, making her the
first American woman to win four gold medals in one Olympic
Games; named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s
Sports Foundation; voted Swimmer of the Year by U.S.A.
Swimming; voted Sportswoman of the Year by the Associated
Press and by the U.S. Olympic Committee
1998 Won two gold medals at World Swimming Championships in
Perth, Australia, in 50-meter freestyle and 4 x 100-meter relay
2000 At Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, won gold medal in
women’s 400-meter freestyle relay, as part of U.S. team that
broke the record for this event, with a time of 3:36.61; won
gold medal for swimming preliminaries of the 400-meter
medley relay; finished fourth in 50-meter freestyle
2001 Inducted into Colorado Sports Hall of Fame
to these three events, she would also swim in the
women’s relays at the Olympics in Atlanta.
In her first event, the 100-meter freestyle, Van
Dyken was extremely nervous and finished in fourth
place, lying at the side of the pool suffering from leg
and neck cramps. But she bounced back after this disappointment
and won a gold medal as part of the
women’s 400-meter freestyle relay team, swimming the
second fastest relay leg ever, at 53.91 seconds. She then
won the 100-meter butterfly—which she had qualified
for but had not practiced—with a time of 59.13 seconds,
beating world champion Liu Limin of China by
one one-hundredth of a second. Van Dyken’s third gold
medal came as part of the 400-meter medley relay
team, and her fourth in the 50-meter relay. Just before
that final race, she later told how she gave world champion
Le Jingyi of China a nasty look, clapped her hands
at her, and spat pool water in her lane. Van Dyken beat
Jingyi with a time of 24.87 seconds-three one-hundredths
of a second ahead of the champion, and set a