U.S. Gold Medal Swimmer Suffers Severed Spinal Cord

(ATR) Six-time gold medalist Amy Van Dyken Rouen is in an Arizona intensive care unit after an ATV accident on Friday.

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UNITED STATES - JULY 23:  SCHWIMMEN: ATLANTA 1996 100m Delphin FRAUEN 23.7.96, Amy VAN DYKEN - USA (GOLD)  (Photo by Mark Sandten/Bongarts/Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - JULY 23: SCHWIMMEN: ATLANTA 1996 100m Delphin FRAUEN 23.7.96, Amy VAN DYKEN - USA (GOLD) (Photo by Mark Sandten/Bongarts/Getty Images)

(ATR) United States gold medalist Amy Van Dyken Rouen is in an Arizona intensive care unit after an all-terrain vehicle accident.

Her family posted on Facebook that the six-time gold medal swimmer suffered a severed spinal cord in the accident, which occurred on Friday.

Her spinal cord was severed at the T11 vertebra and it came "within millimeters" of rupturing her aorta.

According to a police report, a 911 call was placed at 7:55 p.m. on Friday. Van Dyken Rouen was conscious after the accident, but had trouble breathing and could not feel her legs.

A witness saw the swimmer drive an ATV through a parking lot and "launch over" a curb while not wearing a helmet.

Van Dyken Rouen won four gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Games and concluded her Olympics career four years later with two medley golds in Sydney.

Written by Nick Devlin

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