Brent Matthew Hayden (born October 21, 1983) is a Canadian retired competitive swimmer. Representing Canada for a decade, Hayden is regarded as the fastest swimmer in Canadian history. Hayden won a bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with a time of 47.80, and was world champion in the same event in 2007 with Filippo Magnini of Italy. By winning the 100 metre, Hayden became the first Canadian in 21 years to win a gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships, and was also the first Canadian to appear in the 100 metre final at the Olympics since Dick Pound at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in the 100 metre. Hayden added a further three silver and one bronze medal to his World Championship totals.

Hayden is currently the Canadian record-holder in the 200 metre and 100 metre in both the short-course and long-course. He has also held the world record in the 4×100 metre medley relay, and the 4×200 metre freestyle relay. Initially retiring after the London Olympics, Hayden returned to the pool seven years later to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Career

2004–2008: Athens to Beijing

Hayden's first Olympics were the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, as part of the Canadian swimming team. It was a disappointing first Olympic appearance for Hayden, as inexperience took its toll on the 20-year-old.

In Melbourne for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Hayden won his first major international silver medal when he finished second in the 50 m freestyle, an event he had not intended on racing. His further successes came as Hayden was working on improving his starting 50 m as he was known more as a finisher in the last 50.

After disappointment at the previous two Olympics when he failed to qualify for the 100 m final, he became the first Canadian to do so in swimming's glamour event since Dick Pound in 1960. He went on to win bronze medal for Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 100 m freestyle after a strong start placed him in medal contention at the turn. Gold and silver went to American Nathan Adrian and world champion James Magnussen of Australia, while Hayden beat out Yannick Agnel and César Cielo for third; the medals were also presented by Dick Pound. Though only a bronze, the medal was a redemption for Hayden, who was visibly ecstatic at winning an Olympic medal at long last. With his Olympic medal finally in his possession, he said that "There are so many times when you can dream of something but a million out of a million and one times it won't come true. This was one of the things that I was very fortunate as a human being to have happen to me." Hayden announced his retirement from the sport after the 4×100-metre medley relay at the Olympics but said he believed in the Canadian swim team to thrive in the future, saying that "I think in the grand scheme of things, with the people we have, we've done an amazing job … As long as we keep that momentum building, I think we're going to see more success come from more diverse events."

2020: Comeback

In the ensuing Olympic cycle, Swimming Canada would enjoy breakthrough success on the women's side, headlined by emerging talent Penny Oleksiak, but the men's team struggled greatly after the retirements of Hayden and Cochrane, and would earn no medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Hayden was nevertheless inspired by the direction of the program, and after seven years away from the pool he announced a comeback in September 2019. After only 6 months of training, Hayden met the Olympic "A" Qualifying time with a 21.97 in the 50m freestyle at the TYR Pro Series in Des Moines, Iowa. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 Summer Olympics being delayed by a year, which Hayden would later credit with giving him more time to return to competitive form.

In 2021, Hayden won the 50 m freestyle at the Canadian Olympic Trials with a time of 21.82, well ahead of the FINA "A" standard of 22.01. This was his fourth time representing Canada at the Olympics. He opted not to contest the 100 m in Tokyo, as he and his coaches feared it might trigger back spasms. Hayden said afterward "this means that I made the right decision to come back."

Personal life

Despite being a strong freestyle swimmer later in life, as a child he had to repeat his swimming lessons.

He and his wife Zarifeh created their own line of athletic lifestyle apparel, Astra Athletica, a business which they currently run.

Hayden has also pursued photography as a passion and has had several exhibitions.

Hayden retired from competitive swimming for the first time immediately after the 2012 Games, as he had suffered from back spasms and depression. He ran a swimming camp, and during one video filming session in Beirut in 2020, he did a sprint swim at the bequest of the camp kids and realized that his time was still competitive, convincing him to make a comeback.

Other awards

  • 2005 Canadian Swimmer of the Year
  • 2005 BC Athlete of the Year (finalist)
  • 2005 Canadian Partners of the Year
  • 2006 Canadian Swimmer of the Year
  • 2006 BC Athlete of the Year
  • 2007 Canadian Swimmer of the Year
  • 2007 BC Athlete of the Year
  • 2007 Canadian Athlete of the Year
  • 2012 Canadian Athlete of the Year (finalist)
  • 2012 Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal Recipient
  • 2013 BC Sports Hall Of Fame Induction (Class of 2013)

See also

  • List of Canadian records in swimming
  • List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
  • List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
  • World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay
  • World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay

References