Ex-Olympian Amy Van Dyken Crushes CrossFit Wheelchair Games, 2nd Place!

USA Olympic legend Amy Van Dyken has a new sport -- she's a wheelchair crosFfit athlete -- and she just came in 2nd place in the inaugural WheelWOD Open!!!

Amy racked up SIX gold medals during her incredible swimming career -- scoring 4 medals at the 1996 Games and 2 more in 2000. 

But, her life was changed forever in 2014 when she was paralyzed from the waist down in a freak ATV accident that severed her spinal cord. 

Amy -- ever the competitor -- decided to get BACK into CrossFit after the accident ... and now she's become one of the premiere wheelchair athletes in the world. 

In fact, the 46-year-old entered the 2019 WheelWOD Open in Canada earlier this month -- and CRUSHED IT -- finishing in the top 4 in every event ... coming in 2nd place overall!! 

Amy says she wasn't exactly in the best place emotionally after her accident ... but learning to do CrossFit from her chair has "given me my life back."

She trains in Phoenix -- spending 2 to 4 hours in the gym at a time -- and says her competitive fire isn't just relit ... it's burning out of control and she can't wait for the next WheelWOD Open to take that #1 spot. 

"Girlfriend doesn't play to get 2nd. Girlfriend plays to WIN. Have you seen my collection of gold medals?!?!! I'm just sayin'"