BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After a record-breaking performance, Kristen Hayden was announced the Big Ten Diver of the Week for the second time in three weeks last week. It's the third time she's received the honor in her career. She just recorded a career-best 399.38 in the individual 3-meter event.
It's positive momentum as she heads into the conference championship this month and the upcoming NCAA Championships in March. The individual feat follows Hayden and mixed synchronized diving partner Quinn Henninger placing first at the USA Diving National Championship in Bloomington in December of 2021.
The accomplishment put Hayden in the USA Diving record books and in step with her idols.
"I'm the first African American female to win a national championship," Hayden said. "It's Simone Manuel, Simone Biles, Serena Williams, Venus Williams — all of these trailblazers, and I've always wanted to be that person for diving."
Hayden is 23. She started diving at age 10 after a friend's mom suggested she combine the two sports she was already in: gymnastics and swimming. Given her success, it was a wise call, but still — there were challenges.
"Diving is not a very diverse sport. I want to be someone that not just little Black girls or boys, but any minority, can look up to and say, 'Hey, she's doing this. I could do it too,'" Hayden said.
Hayden was diagnosed with a learning disability that requires repetition to process and understand information and feedback. Throughout her diving career, she hopped club to club, searching for a fit.
"People didn't like my body type. They wanted a very slender, small diver. I have broad shoulders...very narrow hips and I have muscle," Hayden said. "I've also faced stereotypes of how an African American should act, or my hair — that was a big thing."
Even at the collegiate level, Hayden made multiple moves. Hayden first enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and then transferred to the University of Minnesota, where she spent two seasons. While there, Hayden participated in a Black Lives Matter discussion with USA Diving.
The New Jersey native then took a two-year break from school, opting to redshirt and train for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo at RipFest, an elite diving program created by coach John Wingfield in Arcadia, Indiana.
"Being there and being with John has changed my diving. He took my diving to another level," Hayden said.
Hayden believes the work there set her up for her new diving home at Indiana University in Bloomington.
"Every road led to IU," Hayden said.
IU head coach Drew Johansen followed Hayden's career back when he was at Duke University. Last fall, he saw her name pop up in the transfer portal. It didn't take long to ink a deal and enroll Hayden as a senior.
"I feel like it was something that was meant to happen, but it had to happen at the right time for us to get the most out of Kristen and for her to realize her potential," Johansen said.
Johansen made the mixed synchronized diving pairing that led to the podium in December. Now the duo is preparing for World Championships in May.
"We're focused. We have a goal. We want to be the best versions of ourselves as possible," Hayden said.
And at her best, Johansen believes Hayden could earn a coveted individual Olympic spot in 2024.
"Paris is coming up quickly. She was fourth at the last Olympic trials and is only going to get better, now that she has finally found a home. I think if we put her into any competition, she can beat anybody in the world," Johansen said.
Hayden's next meet will be vying for the conference title at the 2022 Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in Madison, Wisconsin Feb. 16-19.
"I want to be the person who you look up to and you can be like, 'I can be like her. I can do what she's doing and I can do more,'" Hayden said.