She sets high goals inside and outside the pool, saying there’s more to life than swimming.
First-time Olympian Madeline (Maya) DiRado has already earned a trio of medals—gold, silver, and bronze—as part of the US swimming team. She says it’s the “quiet confidence” of her Christian faith that allows her to be a grateful, joyful, and goal-oriented athlete, even at the highest levels of competition.
A native of Santa Rosa, California, the 23-year-old has been swimming on the world stage for five years. After she narrowly missed qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, DiRado took this year’s trials by storm when she won three individual events.
Her early performances in Rio earned her a spot on a relay as well; that 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay team went on to win gold. DiRado also placed second in the 400-meter individual medley and third in the 200-meter individual medley. She competes in her final event, the 200-meter backstroke, later today.
Equally accomplished outside the pool, DiRado skipped second grade, started high school at the age of 13, and entered Stanford University at 17. After graduating with a degree in management science and engineering, she secured a consulting job that she will start soon after the Games end.
DiRado, her fellow-swimmer husband, and her parents attend The River Church Community, an Evangelical Covenant Church–affiliated congregation in the San Francisco Bay Area. A few days before leaving for Rio, she spoke with CT about her lifelong faith, its impact on her athletic career, and her unusual decision to retire from swimming after the Olympics, no matter what happens.
How did you come to know Christ?
I was raised by two strong Christians in my parents, Marit and Ruben. I always attended church growing up but started questioning my beliefs as a teenager. …
