finals by 0.04 seconds and the human who realizes that … at 37 years of age, I came within only 0.04 seconds from the Olympic final.”. Personal life Despite being a strong freestyle swimmer later in life, as a child he had to repeat his swimming lessons. He is known as "Soup" to his friends due to the superman tattoo he has on his chest. Hayden was born and raised in Mission, but resides in Vancouver. He attended the University of British Columbia where he studied. He also has a black belt in Isshin Ryu karate. After the London 2012 Games, Hayden flew to Lebanon and married Nadina Zarifeh, a singer/songwriter, on August 19. Hayden appeared on CBC's television show Canada's Smartest Person as a competitor in 2014, but he did not win the title. He and his wife Zarifeh created their own line of athletic lifestyle apparel, Astra Athletica, a business which they currently run. Hayden has also pursued photography as a passion and has had several exhibitions. Hayden retired from competitive swimming for the first time immediately after the 2012 Games, as he had suffered from back spasms and depression. He ran a swimming camp, and during one video filming session in Beirut in 2020, he did a sprint swim at the bequest of the camp kids and realized that his time was still competitive, convincing him to make a comeback. Other awards 2005 Canadian Swimmer of the Year 2005 BC Athlete of the Year (finalist) 2005 Canadian Partners of the Year 2006 Canadian Swimmer of the Year 2006 BC Athlete of the Year 2007 Canadian Swimmer of the Year 2007 BC Athlete of the Year 2007 Canadian Athlete of the Year 2012 Canadian Athlete of the Year (finalist) 2012 Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal Recipient 2013 BC Sports Hall Of Fame Induction (Class of 2013) See also List of Canadian records in swimming List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men) List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay References External links Official Website Link to his wife Nadina's webpage 1983 births Living people Canadian male karateka Canadian male freestyle swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada World record setters in swimming Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic