"I think in the grand scheme of things, with the people we have, we've done an amazing job … As long as we keep that momentum building, I think we're going to see more success come from more diverse events." 2020: Comeback In the ensuing Olympic cycle, Swimming Canada would enjoy breakthrough success on the women's side, headlined by emerging talent Penny Oleksiak, but the men's team struggled greatly after the retirements of Hayden and Cochrane, and would earn no medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Hayden was nevertheless inspired by the direction of the program, and after seven years away from the pool he announced a comeback in September 2019. After only 6 months of training, Hayden met the Olympic "A" Qualifying time with a 21.97 in the 50m freestyle at the TYR Pro Series in Des Moines, Iowa. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 Summer Olympics being delayed by a year, which Hayden would later credit with giving him more time to return to competitive form. In 2021, Hayden won the 50 m freestyle at the Canadian Olympic Trials with a time of 21.82, well ahead of the FINA "A" standard of 22.01. This was his fourth time representing Canada at the Olympics. He opted not to contest the 100 m in Tokyo, as he and his coaches feared it might trigger back spasms. Hayden's return was widely credited for providing leadership to the men's program, with the most notable result being the surprise fourth-place finish in the 4x100 m freestyle relay where they were just 0.3 seconds behind the Australians who took the bronze medal, an event where the Canadian team had not been expected to even qualify for the final. Hayden swam a time of 47.99 in the leadoff of the relay, becoming by five years the oldest man to ever swim a time under 48 seconds. Hayden said afterward "this means that I made the right decision to come back." Hayden also competed in the 50 Metre Freestyle where he reached the semi-finals and just missed a finals slot by 0.04 seconds, nonetheless it was his fastest time (post bodysuit), and his best-ever time in the event, leaving him to write on social media “It is such a weird state of confusion when you are torn between the pure competitor in you who realizes you missed the