At the age of six, when a doctor suggested she take up swimming to help relieve her asthma, the thought of becoming an Olympic champion was far from Amy Van Dyken's mind. However, at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, Van Dyken won two individual medals and two team medals to become the first American woman ever to win four gold medals in a single Olympics. This feat made her the most decorated athlete male or female, of the 1996 Games. She left the Olympic Games with five career best times, four gold medals and three American Records.

Amy enhanced her distinguished repertoire of Olympic achievements by adding three Gold Medals from the 1998 World Championships in Perth, Australia. Overcoming two shoulder surgeries, Amy earned two more Gold Medals in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia bringing her Olympic Gold Medal total to six. To cap off her extraordinary swimming career, Amy was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Olympic Hall of Fame on 2009.