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Biography
A YOUNG AMERICAN
Serious swimmers brag about the crazy distances they cover in the water. It's just part of the culture. However, most of the best would be hard-pressed to top Hayley McGregory's first long-distance experience.
Shortly after coming into the world in London, McGregory made the long hop across The Pond to live in America. Born to British parents, Hayley quickly settled into life in Houston, Texas. She joined the swim team, played tennis and even earned a brown belt in Tae Kwan Do. However, her talent in swimming was so apparent that she gave up the other sports and moved to Austin to focus on her training. Much like her African-American grandfather's call to serve America as an Air Force MP, Hayley was called to represent her adopted country in the water. In 1999, she made it official, becoming a U.S. citizen.
While her initial performances on the national level were impressive—taking a pair of US Open titles in 2002—her best was still ahead. The precocious 13-year-old who competed in both backstrokes at the 2000 Olympic Trials would go on to take third in both the 100- and 200-meter backstrokes at the 2004 Trials, a position that many swimmers consider the worst place to finish of all the meets in the world. For Hayley, the meet served as motivation, pushing her through grueling workouts, knowing she was capable of so much more. Heading into the summer of 2008, she’s the second-fastest American woman in the history of the 100m backstroke. And she's far from finished.
With Beijing looming in the summer, the 22-year-old has a new focus as she prepares for Trials and the Games beyond them. With school on hold and full-time attention on her swimming, McGregory is ready to see what her potential is. Though her sites are set on the 2008 Games this summer, McGregory loves the thought of returning to England to swim at the London Games in 2012. Her family has a history of racing fast in the country. Her parents, Tracy and Dennis, used to raise and breed the fastest racing dogs in England. Their Salukis were just the beginning of impressive racing from the McGregory clan, a tradition Hayley hopes to continue.
While England has a special place in Hayley's heart, she currently seems happiest in her favorite place in her adopted country—Texas. After two years at University of Southern California, Hayley has put her schooling off and returned to Austin to prepare for a summer of fast swimming.
As an aspiring entrepreneur, her future could one day be filled with the day-to-day tasks of running her own business; but today, her present is filled with countless drills and punishing yards swum every day under the guidance of Coach Randy Reese.
Of course, she still hasn't topped her first trip across The Pond.
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