Ready to represent
BRENT HAYDEN TALKS ABOUT WHY HE CAME OUT OF RETIREMENT
When Brent Hayden was just getting started on what has become a 17-year Olympics odyssey spread over four Games, the state of Canadian swimming was in a vastly different place.
For one, Summer Mcintosh, an emerging 14-yearold prodigy among the talented women swimmers on the current team, was still years away from being born.
More importantly, other than Hayden and distance specialist Ryan Cochrane, Canadian swimmers were in a serious drought of performance doldrums. Medals were scarce and long gone were the glory days of Victor Davis, Alex Baumann and the other greats of previous generations.
Hayden was the exception, a world champion who had his Olympic challenges, but validated much of those struggles with a redemptive bronze in the 100-metre freestyle at the London Games after failing as the gold medal favourite four years earlier.
Flash forward to 2021 where the 37-year-old Mission, B.C., native sees a bright future for the program, adding his experience and race knowledge to the group while at the tail end of his career.
“We definitely had some years when I was around where it was kind of an attitude that was just trying to get to the final and just happy to be there,” Hayden said. “That’s all changed now.
“And once you get that ball rolling, it kind of becomes infectious. More and more athletes get on the Canadian team, and especially when it’s a team that’s winning, they don’t want to just be along for the ride.”
Though not the only motivation, getting in on the fun was certainly a factor in Hayden coming out of retirement — he skipped the Rio Games — for another shot at the world’s most elite competition. With his back woes behind him and Swimming Canada’s trajectory on a different plane, it was easy for Hayden to renew his love for racing.
“I really do feel that Canada has a bright future. We’ve already seen it on the women’s side but I truly believe we’ll soon be seeing it on the men’s side as well.”
There already has been flashes of that promise in Tokyo when the 4x100 freestyle relay team narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish from a group led by Hayden swimming the opening leg. And in powerful long swimmers such as 18-year-old Josh Liendo, who was also on that relay team, the hope in the men’s program feels real.
“Put it this way: If 18-yearold Josh was racing 18-yearold Brent Hayden, I don’t think you would have ever heard of me,” Hayden said.
He knows what it’s like to be the big deal. He went into the 2008 Beijing Games as the gold medal favourite only to flame out in the semifinals. It was a crushing blow made worse by mental and physical struggles in the four years before triumphantly reaching the podium in London.
“To be able to get that medal and dealing with the mental health struggles I had the whole year leading up to London ... I succeeded when everything was going wrong. That made the medal even more special and was a very valuable life lesson I still look back on whenever I’m feeling challenged in life.”
As for Tokyo, Hayden didn’t just come out of retirement for a ceremonial victory lap. He’s worked harder in the weight room than at any point of his career and physically feels stronger. Much of the wear and tear from his past injuries is gone and while the chassis may have 37 years on it, there’s some racing left in it.
“Ultimately I want to be able get up on those blocks, represent my country proudly, touch that wall and turn around and see a time on that clock that I can be proud of, whatever the result is.”
‘WE DEFINITELY HAD SOME YEARS WHEN I WAS AROUND WHERE IT WAS KIND OF AN ATTITUDE THAT WAS JUST TRYING TO GET TO THE FINAL AND JUST HAPPY TO BE THERE. THAT’S ALL CHANGED NOW.’ — BRENT HAYDEN