Amy Van Dyken, 41enne famosa ex nuotatrice statunitense, si è lacerata il midollo spinale a causa di un incidente mentre guidava una specie di quad

15 Aug 2000: Amy Van Dyken gets into a celebratory mode after the Women's 50 meter Freestyle Finals during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials at the Indianapolis University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport
15 Aug 2000: Amy Van Dyken gets into a celebratory mode after the Women's 50 meter Freestyle Finals during the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials at the Indianapolis University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport

Van Dyken, nella sua carriera, ha vinto sei medaglie olimpiche fra il 1996 e il 2000 e sei medaglie ai Mondiali di nuoto, fra il 1994 e il 1998. Ad Atlanta 1996, divenne la prima atleta americana a vincere quattro medaglie d’oro in una sola edizione (50 metri stile libero, 100 metri farfalla e staffette 4×100 stile libero e 4×100 misti).

Six-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Amy Van Dyken-Rouen completely severed her spinal cord in an ATV accident near her Arizona home and is in intensive care in a Scottsdale hospital. Van Dyken-Rouen, 41, is at the Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, where she is in “good spirits,” her husband, Tom Rouen, said Monday.

“Amy awoke within hours of surgery acting like her typical spunky, boisterous, ebullient self and has spent the last 24 hours entertaining her family and her medical staff in the ICU,” read a statement her family released to swimmingworldmagazine.com. Van Dyken-Rouen, who was injured Friday near the couple’s Arizona home, is in the third day of a critical period and is showing signs of improving, Rouen said.

(Continua a leggere sul Denver Post)

foto: Al Bello/Allsport