Amy Van Dyken-Rouen Named Fiesta Bowl Grand Marshal

PHOENIX – Amy Van Dyken-Rouen will join a distinguished list of Olympic swimmers who have served as Fiesta Bowl Grand Marshal when she joins the annual Fiesta Bowl Parade next month.

Van Dyken-Rouen, a longtime Arizona resident, made national headlines last June when the all-terrain vehicle she was driving crashed in a ravine. The accident severed her spine and left her paralyzed from the waist down. She spent about a month in intensive rehab in her native Colorado before returning to Arizona in September.

“To be named the Grand Marshal is absolutely astounding to me; I am so honored, so privileged,” said Van Dyken-Rouen at the press conference announcing her appointment. “It is right around the time that we’re going to be launching my new foundation, Amy’s Army. I know that National Bank of Arizona and the Fiesta Bowl really do a lot for the community, so to be able to have the announcement of my own foundation along with them is extremely special.”

The Fiesta Bowl Parade is set for December 27 in Phoenix. Missy Franklin served as Grand Marshal in December 2012 to mark the last time an Olympic swimming gold medalist took the post. Previously, native Arizonans Misty Hyman and Gary Hall Jr. served as Grand Marshals in 2000 after each won Olympic gold in Sydney that year. Janet Evans was the first swimmer to hold the post, doing so after her three-gold performance in 1988.

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