Van Dyken Named Ap’s Female Athlete Of Year

Amy Van Dyken was the unexpected hero of Atlanta, an also-ran who suddenly found her stroke in the biggest event of all - the Olympics. Now, the rewards just won’t stop coming.

The first U.S. woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics, Van Dyken was selected Tuesday as The Associated Press female athlete of the year.

Balloting by The AP’s print and broadcast members gave Van Dyken 191 points and 45 of the 165 first-place votes. Second was another Olympic gold medalist, gymnast Kerri Strug, with 34 first-place votes and 159 points, followed by tennis star Steffi Graf, with 27 first-place votes and 142 points.

No one expected anything close to a record-setting Olympics from Van Dyken. Her best showings against top-level competition were a bronze medal at the 1994 world championships and a gold at the 1995 Pan American Games.

But in Atlanta, things changed drastically.

Van Dyken swam a leg on the gold-medal 400 freestyle relay, then won the 100 butterfly by one-hundredth of a second over Liu Limin of China, a victory not even Van Dyken expected. A third gold medal in the 400 medley relay followed.

In her final race, the 50 freestyle, Van Dyken upset the favored Le Jingyi of China in an American-record 24.87 seconds, helping the U.S. swim team to 13 gold medals, its biggest haul since 1984.

Now back in training, Van Dyken works out at a local swim club with 6-year-olds and will resume competition in an age-group meet in Indianapolis this month. Van Dyken wants to compete in the next world championships in Perth, Australia, in January 1998 but won’t commit to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.