MADDEN Paige

General
STUDIES BENEFIT SWIMMING
In 2021 she is graduating from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and a health and wellbeing minor. She hopes to become a physician's assistant when her swimming career is over. "It was very interesting to see the science behind what I do every day,. It definitely made me more mindful of processes my body is undergoing while I'm working out in practice and how to recover properly and all that stuff. It's been good knowledge to have, especially when it comes to taking care of myself. That was definitely a big benefit." (education.virginia.edu, 16 Apr 2021)

COVID-19 SETBACK
She was diagnosed with COVID-19 less than three months before the 2021 US Olympic team trials which took place in June. "When it first happened, I was devastated. I immediately told myself, 'Well, I'm done. My season's over. Everything is out the window. No way I make an Olympic team, I don't even know if I'll go to trials.'" Madden had asthma prior to the diagnosis and was unable to train normally. "I'm a swimmer, my lungs are probably my most important organ, and the fact that they're not working exactly how they were before was really frustrating. I think it probably took a few weeks for me to start feeling like I'm getting back into shape." Once she secured her qualification at the trials, she celebrated with her University of Virginia teammates who were also at the pool deck. "[My teammates] were all crying. I was crying. I was in shock and it was special to enjoy this with them." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 15 Jun 2021; dailyprogress.com, 28 Jun 2021)