Six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken severed her spine during an all-terrain vehicle accident in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday, according to Jeff Metcalfe of azcentral.com.
After being strapped to a backboard and airlifted to Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, the 41-year-old swimmer told emergency workers she could not move her toes or feel anything touching her legs.
Dyken is recovering from a surgery that stabilized her spine, the Associated Press reported.
Although no details about Dyken's injuries were provided on Monday, hospital spokeswoman Alice Giedraitis said the swimmer was in good condition despite the seriousness of her injury and the circumstances of the accident.
A letter from the Van Dyken and Rouen families said she severed her spinal cord at the T11 vertebrae and that the broken vertebrae came within millimeters of rupturing her aorta.
Dyken hit a curb in a restaurant parking lot while she was driving the ATV, causing her to fly over a drop-off between 5 to 7 feet, a report by the Show Low Police Department said.
The former Olympic swimming champion, who goes by her married name Van Dyken Rouen, was found lying on the ground next to the ATV.
A witness said he saw Dyken, who was allegedly not wearing a helmet, launch over the curb and found her unresponsive when he arrived on the scene, the report said.
The throttle mechanism on the ATV had been changed by Dyken's husband, former Denver Broncos punter Tom Rouen, from a thumb accelerator to a twist accelerator a few days before the accident. However, it hasn't been confirmed whether that factored in the accident.
He said his wife had not been drinking alcohol that evening.
"Dyken starred at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where she became the first U.S. female athlete to win four gold medals in a single game," the AP reported. "She captured the 50-meter freestyle and 100 butterfly and also competed on the winning relay teams in the 400 free and 400 medley."
"Four years later at Sydney, she added two more golds in the 400 free and 400 medley relays before retiring from competition."
"In 2003, she was among numerous prominent athletes who testified before a grand jury investigating the BALCO doping scandal. Dyken never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during her career."
