A Denver hospital PR department retracted its critical press relaese of Olympic swimmer Amy Van Dyken for backing out of an appearance at a $150-a-plate charity dinner.
Van Dyken, who was named as Sports Woman of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee after winning four gold medals in Atlanta, canceled her appearance at the Winterfest Ball on Jan. 26 so she could swim in an invitational meet in Indianapolis with her sister and brother.
The hospital, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, issued a critical press release to local media about the swimmer's cancellation. "We wonder if this "Woman Athlete of the Year" should have milk on her face in the new advertising campaigns, or may we suggest, egg on her face?" said a statement written by Nan Flynn-Butler, referring to Van Dyken's ads for milk.
The hospital later retracted the statement, and Flynn-Butler wrote an apology to the swimmer calling the release "unprofessional." In lieu of her appearance, Van Dyken will host a lunch for the person who buys a signed portrait of her at an auction held at the ball. "It's obviously something she's very upset about," said Janey Miller, director of athlete marketing for Gold Medal Management in Boulder, Colo. "It was something that was taken totally out of context and blown out of proportion." (Gold Medal Management, 312/854-9344)