VESTAL, N.Y. – Olympic gold medalist and world champion swimmer Amy Van Dyken was the featured speaker at the 11th Annual Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon on Monday afternoon at the Events Center. The event, which had 620 attendees, was geared towards raising support for the Binghamton Women's Scholarship Fund.

At the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Van Dyken became the first American female athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympiad. Four years later, she captured two more gold medals at the Sydney Olympics. In between those two performances, Van Dyken won three gold medals at the 1998 World Championships, which were held in Perth, Australia.

Following the Atlanta Games, Van Dyken was named the 1996 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. She was also named the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Sports Woman of the Year and was selected as one of the 25 most influential females in sports by Women's Sports and Fitness Magazine.

On Monday at the Events Center, Van Dyken shared to the audience how tough the road was for her in becoming a world class swimmer.

"In my freshman year of high school, I was the worst swimmer of the team and when I got put in a relay race, some of my teammates were making (negative) remarks about it. That moment changed my life and the way I continue to live my life today. I thought to myself at the time—who are they to tell me what I can and can't do?"

In June of 2014, Van Dyken was injured in an ATV accident and severed her spinal cord leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Since then, she has been working hard rehabbing and making great strides towards her goal of walking again.

"I live every day to its fullest because you don't know what is going to happen," she said. "Continue on ladies, and remember that if anyone tells you that you can't do something and that you are not good enough, or that you're not smart enough or talented enough—I want you to look at them and think of me and say 'Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?'"

Van Dyken is the latest of an impressive group of guest speakers who have come to Binghamton for the Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon. She is preceded by Rebecca Lobo (2015), Jennie Finch (2014), Shannon Miller (2013), Amanda Beard (2012), Julie Foudy (2011), Kara Lawson (2010) and Jessica Mendoza (2009).

Earlier during the event, senior softball player and team captain Griffin McIver was the student speaker. She is a recipient of the Binghamton Women's Scholarship and talked about how being a student-athlete at Binghamton has shaped her life.

"The opportunities that I have had here at Binghamton have been unimaginable," she said. "It has been the best four years of my life. The experiences I have had as an athlete and with my teammates (have both) been something I have never taken for granted. To you young girls out there – find your passion, believe in yourself and never give up."

Since 2006, the Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon has now raised more than $300,000 to support the Women's Scholarship Fund.  The scholarships were established in 2007, and are awarded annually to two female student-athletes. The luncheon began in 2006, with just 75 attendees, and is today one of the Athletics Department's primary fundraisers.

Luncheon attendees had the opportunity to meet current Bearcat student-athletes and coaches from the women's teams. In addition, guests had the chance to bid on several auction items with all proceeds going toward the BBAA Women's Scholarship Fund.

The Celebrating Women's Athletics Luncheon is held each February as part of a series of national celebratory events surrounding National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), which began in 1986. The purpose of NGWSD is to honor the achievements of all female athletes and recognize the positive influence of sports participation.