.jpg) DiRado inSanta Clara, California in 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Madeline Jane DiRado Andrews | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Maya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1993-04-05)April 5, 1993 (age 32)[2] Santa Rosa, California, U.S.[3][1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 143 lb (65 kg)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle,butterfly,backstroke,medley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Santa Rosa Neptunes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Stanford University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Greg Meehan[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Madeline Jane "Maya" DiRado-Andrews (born April 5, 1993) is a retired[4][5] American competitiveswimmer who specialized infreestyle,butterfly,backstroke, andindividual medley events.[6] She attended and swam forStanford University, where she wonNCAA titles in the 200 and 400 meter individual medley in 2014 and graduated with a degree inmanagement science and engineering.[7][8][9] At the 2016 US Olympic Trials, DiRado qualified to swim the 200 meter and 400 meter individual medley events, as well as the 200 meter backstroke, at the2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro, she won a gold medal in the women's 4x200 meter freestyle relay, a silver medal in the 400 meter individual medley, a bronze medal in the women's 200 meter individual medley, and a gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke. Following the Olympics, DiRado retired from the sport.[2][10]
DiRado is the daughter of Marit (née Parker) and Ruben DiRado.[3] Her father is fromArgentina,[11] his parents having emigrated fromItaly[12] to Argentina afterWorld War II. She received her short name Maya from her sister who could not pronounce Madeline.[2]
DiRado began swimming at the age of six,[2] when she joined the Santa Rosa Neptunes with her Olympic Teammate Molly Hannis.[13] At the age of 17, DiRado graduated fromMaria Carrillo High School inSanta Rosa, where she was a three-time high school state champion in the 200 yard IM. In her senior year in 2010, she set the California state record with a time of 1:56.17 in the 200 yard I.M.[13] She also won the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 49.83.[14]
As part of a long line of Stanford graduates, DiRado followed in her family's footsteps and attendedStanford University. In her freshman year, she finished second in the 200 yard IM (individual medley) with a time of 1:54.66[15] and third in the 400 yard IM (4:01.02)[15] at the Division 1 NCAA Championships. The following year, she finished third and fourth in the 200 yard and 400 yard IM events, as well as second in the 200 yard backstroke to future Olympic teammate Elizabeth Beisel, with a time of 1:51.42. She set the age group record for female swimmers age 17–18 as she became the fifth woman ever to swim under four minutes in the 400 IM (3:59.88).[15] In the 2013 NCAA Division 1 Championships, DiRado touched third and second in the 200 and 400 yard IM and fifth in 200 yard backstroke. She concluded her Stanford career with her first individual titles in both the 200 and 400 yard IM, and added a second-place finish in the 200 yard butterfly. For her performance in her senior year, she was namedPac-12 Swimmer of the Year.[8]
Career list of All-American Titles: 200 back: 2011 (5th), 2012 (2nd);200 IM: 2011 (2nd), 2012 (3rd); 400 IM: 2011 (3rd), 2012 (4th); 400 Free Relay: 2011 (5th);800 Free Relay: 2011 (9th), 2012 (7th).[15]
At the2012 United States Olympic Trials, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Olympics, DiRado swam the 200 meter IM, 400 meter IM, and 200 meter back. She finished 4th in both IM events, which did not qualify her for the Olympics since only the top two finishers of each event qualified.[6]
DiRado qualified for the2013 World Aquatics Championships held inBarcelona in three events: 400 meter IM, 200 meter butterfly, and the 4x200 meter freestyle relay. She earned her spot by winning the 400 meter IM, gaining silver in the 200 meter butterfly, and touching fifth in the 200 meter freestyle at the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships.
She swam the preliminary heat of the4x200 meter freestyle relay withChelsea Chenault,Karlee Bispo, andJordan Mattern. The finals team ofKatie Ledecky,Shannon Vreeland,Karlee Bispo, andMissy Franklin won the 4x200 meter freestyle relay in the evening, so DiRado was awarded a gold medal for her prelim contributions. She also finished fourth in the400 meter IM and twelfth in the200 meter fly.[8]
DiRado won two medals at thePan Pacific Swimming Championships in 2014 – a gold in the200 meter IM and a silver in the400 meter IM. In the 200 meter IM, she beat Australian swimmerAlicia Coutts 2:09.93 to 2:10.25 for gold, which tied the meet recordEmily Seebohm set in 2010.[16] She finished second in the 400 meter IM in 4:35.37, compared to 4:31.99 swam by her teammate and winnerElizabeth Beisel. DiRado also finished ninth in the200 meter butterfly.
DiRado swam two events at the2015 World Championships, the two individual medleys. In her first event, the200 meter IM, DiRado just finished outside of a medal, touching fourth with a time of 2:08.99.[17] However, she won her first individual World Championship medal in the400 meter IM, in which she finished second in 4:31.71 behindKatinka Hosszú.[18]
At the2016 United States Olympic Trials, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Rio Olympics, DiRado qualified for the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by winning the 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley, and 200-meter backstroke.
At the2016 Olympic Games inRio de Janeiro,Brazil, DiRado won four medals – two gold, one silver, and one bronze. On the first night of competition, DiRado touched second in the400-meter individual medley in 4:31.15 behindKatinka Hosszú, who broke the world record. She also won a bronze medal in the200-meter individual medley in a personal best time of 2:08.79, behind Hosszú andSiobhan-Marie O'Connor who won gold and silver respectively. Even though she did not swim the 200-meter freestyle at Trials, DiRado was placed in the finals relay lineup for the4×200-meter freestyle relay by the coaches. Along withAllison Schmitt,Leah Smith, andKatie Ledecky, DiRado won her first gold medal of the Olympics. In her final event, the200-meter backstroke, DiRado again faced Hosszú, who was favored to win the event. Hosszú led for the entire race until DiRado surged in the last 25 meters and out touched Hosszú by 6 one-hundredths, 2:05.99 to 2:06.05, for the win.[19]
DiRado retired from the competitive swimming side of the sport following her performances in August 2016 at her Olympic debut in the2016 Summer Olympics.[4][5] She decided to stay active in the swimming community after her retirement by serving as a board member for the United States Swimming Foundation andUSA Swimming.[4]
In 2020, DiRado spoke to the leadership council at theUniversity of Minnesota about what it means to be a good team player and leader in swimming through actions such as honoring one's values.[20] She was still retired from competitive swimming as of August 2021.[5]
DiRado married formerStanford swimmer Rob Andrews on September 19, 2015 at First Presbyterian Church inSanta Rosa, California.[21][22] The two met while they were both on the Stanford swim team.[23] In August 2021, DiRado announced she and her husband were pregnant and expecting a boy.[5][24] An article on the announcement published bySwimSwam was the 19th most read article out of all articles published onSwimSwam for the 2021 year.[25] In January 2022, DiRado announced the birth of her and her husband's son, whom they named Charlie Alan Andrews.[26]
In March 2017, she joined themanagement consulting firmMcKinsey & Company as a Business Analyst.[3][27] While at McKinsey & Company, DiRado supported strategichealth care providerprocurement improvements and implemented risk identification programs in thebanking industry. As of May 2018, she was an Associate at thegrantmaking organization King Philanthropies. DiRado graduated from Stanford with aBachelor of Science inManagement Science andEngineering.[28][29]
| Event | Time | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 m IM | 2:08.79 | Rio de Janeiro | August 9, 2016 | |
| 400 m IM | 4:31.15 | Rio de Janeiro | August 6, 2016 | |
| 200 m butterfly | 2:07.42 | Gold Coast | August 21, 2014 | |
| 100 m backstroke | 1:00.36 | Santa Clara | June 4, 2016 | |
| 200 m backstroke | 2:05.99 | Rio de Janeiro | August 12, 2016 |
