Brent Hayden

Last updated
Brent Hayden
Brent Hayden 129.jpg
Personal information
Full nameBrent Matthew Hayden
Nickname"Soup"
National teamFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Born (1983-10-21) October 21, 1983 (age 40)
Mission, British Columbia
Education University of British Columbia
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight94 kg (207 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
Club Vancouver Pacific Swim Club
College team University of British Columbia
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Olympic Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 London 100 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Melbourne 100 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2005 Montreal 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2005 Montreal 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Shanghai 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2007 Melbourne 4×200 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2006 Victoria 100 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Victoria 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Victoria 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 Irvine 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2002 Yokohama 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2002 Yokohama 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Victoria 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Irvine 50 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Delhi 50 m freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Delhi 100 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2002 Manchester 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2002 Manchester 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 200 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 4×100 m medley

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.

Contents

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. [1] [2] At the time Swimming Canada had been in a steady decline and wound up with no medals in Athens. [3] It was a disappointing first Olympic appearance for Hayden, as inexperience took its toll on the 20-year-old. [4] His best individual finish at the Games was thirteenth in the 200-metre freestyle event. [4] It was further worsened when Hayden was mistaken for a protester and beaten up and arrested by the riot police because he was "tall and wearing a dark shirt" the night before the Closing Ceremonies, a week after his competition ended. The injuries sustained left him unable to compete at the World Short Course Championships which were being held a month later. [4] [5]

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. [4] He also added three bronze medals at the same games, two from the relays and one in the 200-metre freestyle final. Those medals were a premonition of the success to come at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, where he tied for the gold medal with the Italian swimmer in the 100 m freestyle; this was the first World Championship for the Canadians since 1986. In the process of winning the gold, Hayden had also shaved down his own national record in the event down to 48.43 and he also added a bronze from the Worlds in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay. [4] As a result of his victory, the mayor of Mission declared "Brent Hayden Day" on May 26, 2007. As well, the Mission Marlins renamed their swim meet to the "Brent Hayden Invitational" and a large mural, painted on the wall of the Mission Leisure Center, by artist Pascal A. Pelletier, was unveiled.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he was a member of the Canadian team that finished sixth in the 4×100 m freestyle event and fifth in the 4×200 m freestyle relay event. Although he qualified third fastest out of sixteen swimmers, one place ahead of Michael Phelps, he did not compete in the semi-finals of the 200 m freestyle. Instead, his coach decided to rest him for the 4×100-metre freestyle, which was held that same day (Hayden set a Canadian record in the opening leg with a time of 47.56). He failed to qualify for the final in the 100 m freestyle despite being the incumbent World Champion in that event. While Hayden was promoted as the best Canadian swimmer at these games with his world title, only fellow long-distance freestyle Ryan Cochrane managed to medal for the nation in the pool, while the remainder of the swim team failed to make the podium despite a general improvement over their 2004 showing. [3]

2008–2012: London Olympics and retirement

Hayden with his London 2012 bronze medal at the Olympic Heroes Parade in Toronto (September 2012) Brent Hayden Olympic Heroes Parade.jpg
Hayden with his London 2012 bronze medal at the Olympic Heroes Parade in Toronto (September 2012)

Hayden attended the 2009 World Aquatics Championships. He failed in the defence of his world title in the 100 m freestyle, placing fourth with a new Canadian record time of 47.27 seconds and missing the podium by 0.02 seconds. César Cielo was the world champion, and set a new world mark of 46.91 seconds. Hayden was the only swimmer in the final to choose not to wear one of the newest "super suits". He chose to wear the Speedo LZR, which was the suit worn by most swimmers at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, whereas every other swimmer in that final was wearing either the new Arena X-Glide or Jaked (both of these suits are completely covered in polyurethane).

Hayden returned to form at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, clocking the fastest times in his respective events (50 m freestyle, and 100 m freestyle); setting a Games record in the 100 m freestyle during day one, in the 4×100 m freestyle relay final and then breaking his Games record again, in the individual final with a time of 47.98 seconds—0.56 of a second ahead of the silver medallist, Simon Burnett. Hayden held the number one ranking in the world at the time in this event (also being ahead of 22-time Olympic medallist Michael Phelps). In the 50 m freestyle, he won gold with a Games record time of 22.01 seconds. The next season brought further success for Hayden as went on to touch out for the silver on a long glide in the 100 m freestyle final at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships. He had gone into the World Championships having set the previous world's best time the last season. [6] 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. [7] 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. [2] 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." [8] 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." [9]

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. [10]

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. [11] 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. [12]

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. [13] He opted not to contest the 100 m in Tokyo, as he and his coaches feared it might trigger back spasms. [12] Hayden's return was widely credited for providing leadership to the men's program, with the most notable result being the surprise fourth-place finish in the 4x100 m freestyle relay where they were just 0.3 seconds behind the Australians who took the bronze medal, an event where the Canadian team had not been expected to even qualify for the final. [3] [10] Hayden swam a time of 47.99 in the leadoff of the relay, becoming by five years the oldest man to ever swim a time under 48 seconds. [14] Hayden said afterward "this means that I made the right decision to come back." [10] Hayden also competed in the 50 Metre Freestyle where he reached the semi-finals and just missed a final slot by 0.04 seconds, nonetheless it was his fastest time (post bodysuit), and his best-ever time in the event, leaving him to write on social media “It is such a weird state of confusion when you are torn between the pure competitor in you who realizes you missed the finals by 0.04 seconds and the human who realizes that … at 37 years of age, I came within only 0.04 seconds from the Olympic final.”. [15]

Personal life

Despite being a strong freestyle swimmer later in life, as a child he had to repeat his swimming lessons. [4] He is known as "Soup" to his friends due to the superman tattoo he has on his chest. [1] Hayden was born and raised in Mission, but resides in Vancouver. [1] He attended the University of British Columbia where he studied. [4] He also has a black belt in Isshin Ryu karate. [4] After the London 2012 Games, Hayden flew to Lebanon and married Nadina Zarifeh, a singer/songwriter, on August 19. [12]

Hayden appeared on CBC's television show Canada's Smartest Person as a competitor in 2014, but he did not win the title. [16]

He and his wife Zarifeh created their own line of athletic lifestyle apparel, Astra Athletica, a business which they currently run. [17]

Hayden has also pursued photography as a passion and has had several exhibitions. [18] [19] [20] [21]

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. [22]

Other awards

See also

Related Research Articles

Richard Say is a three-time Olympic and National record-holding swimmer from Canada. Say swam as a child for the Salmon Arm Sockeye Swim Club with his two brothers and two sisters. At the age of 18, he began attending the University of Victoria and started to swim seriously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filippo Magnini</span> Italian swimmer

Filippo Magnini is an Italian retired competitive swimmer who was twice 100 metres freestyle World champion and three times European champion at that distance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre freestyle</span>

The men's 200 metre freestyle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10–12 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China. There were 58 competitors from 50 nations. The winning margin was 1.89 seconds which as of 2023 remains the only time this race has been won by more than 1.8 seconds at the Olympics.

Ryan Andrew Cochrane is a retired Canadian competitive swimmer who specialised in freestyle distance events. Cochrane is an Olympic silver and bronze medallist as well as a triple gold medallist from the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. He is also a four-time Commonwealth Games champion in the 400-metre and 1,500-metre having won both medals in 2010 and 2014. He holds six world championship medals from the 800-metre and 1500-metre, this also makes Cochrane Canada's all-time leading medallist for a swimmer at the World Aquatics Championships. Cochrane also won gold medals in the 400 and 1,500 m freestyle at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, as well as a bronze in the 4 x 200 m freestyle at the 2015 Games. From the year 2008 - 2015, Cochrane was named the Canadian male swimmer of the year - winning the award 8 times in a row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad le Clos</span> South African swimmer (born 1992)

Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS is a South African competitive swimmer who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion. He is the African record, Commonwealth record, and South African record holder in the short course and long course 200-metre butterfly and the short course 100-metre butterfly. He also holds the African records and South African records in the long course 200-metre freestyle and 100-metre butterfly, and the short course 100-metre freestyle. Formerly, he was a world record holder in the short course 100-metre butterfly and 200-metre butterfly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle</span>

The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 31 July and 1 August at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom. There were 56 competitors from 49 nations. The event was won by Nathan Adrian of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katerine Savard</span> Canadian swimmer (born 1993)

Katerine Savard is a Canadian competitive swimmer who specializes in women's butterfly events and freestyle relay. She holds several Canadian national records in the butterfly over the 50-, 100-, and 200-metre distances in both the short and long courses. Savard also holds the Canadian junior butterfly record in the 200-metre event. She won the gold medal at the 100-metre butterfly event at the 2013 Summer Universiade, held in Kazan. Savard also won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 100-metre butterfly in Glasgow, where she set the Commonwealth record in the process. At the same games, she won a bronze medal as a member of the women's 4×100-metre medley relay team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Guy (swimmer)</span> British swimmer (born 1995)

James George Guy is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in freestyle and butterfly. Guy has won multiple gold medals at each of the major international meets available to him, including for Great Britain at the Olympic Games (3), the World (5) and European Championships (7), and for England in the Commonwealth Games (2). In addition to further medals in those events, he has also reached the podium at both the World and European short-course championships. With 46 major medals at international championship meets, 20 at global level, he is one of the most decorated swimmers in British history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncan Scott (swimmer)</span> Scottish competitive swimmer

Duncan William MacNaughton Scott is a Scottish swimmer representing Great Britain at the FINA World Aquatics Championships, LEN European Aquatics Championships, European Games and the Olympic Games, and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Scott made history after winning four medals - more than any other British athlete at a single Olympic Games - in Tokyo 2020, simultaneously becoming Great Britain's most decorated swimmer in Olympic history. With an additional gold and silver medal in Paris 2024 bringing his total to eight, Scott became tied with Bradley Wiggins as the second most-decorated Olympian in British history. Scott is the only athlete in the top three to still be actively competing.

Yuri Kisil is a Canadian competitive swimmer who is a freestyle sprinter. A three-time medallist at the World Aquatics Championships, Kisil has represented Canada at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.

Taylor Madison Ruck is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She won two Olympic bronze medals as part of Canada's women's 4×100 metre and 4×200 metre freestyle relay teams at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Ruck won eight medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Her eight medal performance of one gold, five silver, and two bronze tied her with three other athletes for the most all-time at a single Commonwealth Games, as well as making her the most decorated Canadian female athlete ever at a single Commonwealth Games. Ruck is the all-time leading medallist at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships having won nine gold, two silver, and two bronze over the course of the 2015 and 2017 editions.

Kyle Chalmers, is an Australian competitive swimmer. He is a world record holder in the short course 100 metre freestyle, 4×100 metre medley relay, and long course 4×100 metre mixed freestyle relay. He is the Oceanian and Australian record holder in the short course 50 metre butterfly and 50 metre freestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny Oleksiak</span> Canadian swimmer (born 2000)

Penelope Oleksiak is a Canadian competitive swimmer. One of her country's most decorated Olympians, Oleksiak rose to fame during the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she became the first Canadian to win four medals in the same Summer Games, and the country's youngest Olympic champion with her gold medal win in the 100 m freestyle. She was the first athlete born in the 2000s to claim an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. Her success led to her being awarded the 2016 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete, the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's top female athlete for 2016, and a member of the Canadian Press team of the year. Five years later she won three additional medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, breaking the national record for Olympic medals; joined in 2024 by sprinter Andre De Grasse, with seven Olympic medals each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javier Acevedo</span> Canadian swimmer (born 1998)

Javier Carlos Acevedo is a Canadian competitive swimmer. He competes primarily in the backstroke events. Acevedo won two bronze medals at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships as part of both the mixed 4×100 m freestyle relay and the 4×100 m mixed medley relay. He has also won a gold medal at the 2015 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in the 4×100 m mixed freestyle relay and a silver in the 50 m backstroke. Acevado was a former Junior world record holder in the 100 m backstroke event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kylie Masse</span> Canadian swimmer

Kylie Jacqueline Masse is a Canadian competitive swimmer. A noted backstroke specialist, she is a five-time Olympic medallist, three-time World Aquatics champion, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and the 2018 Pan Pacific champion in the 100 metre backstroke. She is currently the captain for the Toronto Titans of the International Swimming League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Thormeyer</span> Canadian swimmer

Markus Thormeyer is a Canadian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle and backstroke. Originally from Delta, Thormeyer moved in 2015 to Vancouver, British Columbia after graduating high school to train with the High Performance Centre-Vancouver. While he swims he is also pursuing an undergraduate degree in environmental science at the University of British Columbia.

Hannah Margaret McNair "Maggie" Mac NeilOLY, MSc is a Canadian competitive swimmer. A 100 metre butterfly event specialist, she is the 2020 Olympic champion, 2019 World (LC) champion, two-time World (SC) champion, 2022 Commonwealth champion, and 2023 Pan American champion. She holds the short course world record, the Commonwealth record, and Pan American record in the event.

Joshua Liendo Edwards is a Canadian competitive swimmer who is an Olympic silver medalist. He is the first Black Canadian swimmer to win an individual medal at a major international championship. At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Liendo won a silver medal in the men's 100 m butterfly.

Finlay Knox is a Canadian competitive swimmer.

Summer Ann McIntosh is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She is a three-time Olympic champion, four-time World Aquatics champion, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. Noted for her strength in medley and butterfly events, she is the current world record holder in the 400 metre individual medley, and also holds the Olympic and textile records in the 200 metre butterfly event, and the Olympic record in the 200 metre individual medley.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "London 2012 profile". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Tony Care (August 1, 2012). "Perseverance, sacrifice define Canada's Brent Hayden". CBC Sports.
  3. 1 2 3 Longley, Rob (July 27, 2021). "Why Brent Hayden came out of retirement to swim with Canada's young guns at Olympics". The National Post . Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Brent Hayden profile". Canadian Olympic Committee. 18 September 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  5. ↑ Randy Starkman (April 1, 2008). "Gentle giant Hayden ready to rule the pool". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Canada's Brent Hayden takes silver at swim worlds". CBC Sports. July 28, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  7. ↑ Sean Gordon (August 1, 2012). "Canadian Brent Hayden's bronze a beautiful thing". The Globe and Mail . Toronto. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  8. ↑ Tony Care (August 1, 2012). "Canada's Brent Hayden captures bronze in 100m freestyle". CBC Sports.
  9. ↑ Allan Maki (August 5, 2012). "Olympic swimming was a meet of beginnings and ends". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 De George, Matthew (August 5, 2021). "With Brent Hayden Leading, Youthful Canadian Men's Program Shows Promise in Tokyo". Swimming World. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  11. ↑ Hayden, Brett (October 23, 2019). "Back for a second splash". CBC Sports. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 Brady, Rachel (July 28, 2021). "Brent Hayden is back for his fourth Olympics after finding new perspective in the pool". Globe & Mail . Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  13. ↑ Strong, Gregory (June 21, 2021). "Youth and experience: McIntosh wins again, Hayden qualifies at Olympic swim trials". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ Keith, Braden (July 26, 2021). "Brent Hayden Becomes Oldest Man to Go Sub-48 in the 100 Free — By 5 Years". Globe & Mail . Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Brent Hayden misses Men's 50 Metre Freestyle finals in Tokyo by 0.04 seconds". 3 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Brent Hayden to Compete for Title of Canada's Smartest Person". Swim Swam. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Our story". Astra Athletica. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  18. ↑ "Olympic swimmer Brent Hayden gets creative with a camera". Vancouver Sun . March 7, 2014. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  19. ↑ "Brent Hayden's photography subject of solo art show". Mission City Record. June 9, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  20. ↑ "Olympian Brent Hayden featured in a solo exhibition of his photography". The Abbotsford News. June 25, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  21. ↑ "Olympic medalist brings his photography to town". Stanwood Camano News. June 9, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  22. ↑ "Free from crushing depression, Brent Hayden is happy to be back in the swim | CBC Sports".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.