Amy Van Dyken Rouen is a champion with the heart of a fighter. As a transfer student in 1993, she had given up on swimming and set her sights on becoming a teacher. CSU swimming coach John Mattos coaxed her back into the water. It was the right call. She posted the fastest time in the 50-yard freestyle and was named NCAA Swimmer of the Year in 1994. She went on to win six Olympic gold medals (1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney). Nearly killed in a 2014 ATV accident, she was told she would never walk again. The fighter kicked in. One year after the accident, Van Dyken Rouen was standing on her own. She started Amy’s Army to provide grants to others with spinal cord injuries. To honor her stalwart courage, CSU’s West Drive was renamed Amy Van Dyken Way – the first time a campus street was named for a former student.
