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Joe Hayburn, a senior at St. Mary's High School in Annapolis, broke Michael Phelps' decades old 100-meter backstroke record for the Loyola University of Maryland swimming pool. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

St. Mary’s High School swimmer breaks record held by Michael Phelps


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Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Schools, Sports

Joe Hayburn felt a bit of relief Jan. 15 when he touched the wall first in the 100-yard backstroke finals at the National Catholic High School Swimming and Diving Championships.

Then Hayburn heard the crowd’s roar as he got out of Mangione Pool at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore. He saw his unofficial time of 47.61 seconds, and it clicked.

Joe Hayburn, a senior at St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis, who broke Michael Phelps’ decades old 100-meter backstroke record for the Loyola University of Maryland swimming pool during a recent competition at the Baltimore college, prepares for the start of his freestyle training session Jan. 20. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Just to the left of the digital results board, the pool records are posted. The 100-yard backstroke record at Mangione Pool was 48.10, set in 2002 by none other than Michael Phelps.

The Bowie native now holds that record, officially at 47.63.

“It was really a surreal moment,” said Hayburn, an 18-year-old senior at St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis. “I felt so grateful, blessed, thankful to God that he allowed me to achieve this at this venue at the National Catholic meet. It was such a special experience. … I’ll never forget that moment.”

Breaking a mark set by the most-decorated Olympian of all time was just Hayburn’s latest achievement as he charts a course to qualify for his first Summer Olympics in 2024.

The Hayburn family is well-known in the Maryland swimming scene. Joe is the fourth of five children of John and Teri Hayburn; Teri was a talented college swimmer and coached Joe and his siblings throughout their youth and summer league endeavors.

They’re parishioners of Sacred Heart, Bowie, in the Archdiocese of Washington, and each child has gone on to attend St. Mary’s. This fall, Joe will follow in the footsteps of older siblings Annie, Jimmy and Patrick and head to Loyola to swim for the Greyhounds.

“We like to say ‘Small school, big dreams,’” St. Mary’s swim coach Allyson Reiter said. “The tradition of families at St. Mary’s, that’s our foundation through and through. The Hayburns are truly a pillar and a family that has set a standard of excellence, has upheld our traditions and has joined these other St. Mary’s families that make the dreams of the small school come true.”

Just days before the meet at Loyola, Joe Hayburn needed a big assist from his parents.

Joe Hayburn works on his back stroke during a training session January 20. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

In order to reach the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials next year, Hayburn must score a qualifying time at a TYR Pro Swim Series meet, and he was registered to compete in one in Knoxville, Tenn. An FAA system outage grounded thousands of flights across the country Jan. 11, and Hayburn’s was one of them.

Later that day – right after he turned in a final exam – Hayburn and his parents hopped in the car and drove nonstop to Knoxville. That Friday he came up 0.11 seconds shy of a qualifying time, but he called it humbling and unbelievable to share a pool deck with Olympic gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Chase Kalisz.

“I swam, and then basically went to grab some pizza and started driving pretty much through the night to Maryland to make sure we were back in time for the National Catholic meet,” Hayburn said.

He was refreshed and ready to go on Sunday, the second day of the meet that attracted swimmers from more than 40 Catholic high schools as far as Kentucky, Ohio and Connecticut.

Reiter, other St. Mary’s coaches and several team members not scheduled to swim that day went to Loyola to support Hayburn.

“One of our favorite sayings for the athletic department is to remember where you came from,” Hayburn said. “St. Mary’s has been such an instrumental part in that foundation of shaping not only the person as an athlete, but also as a person, as a Catholic.”

Hayburn shared his advice for younger swimmers in the area who are beginning to look up to him.

“Anything that’s worth going for is going to be hard,” he said. “Just trust in God and he’s going to lead you down what path you’re supposed to go to. Hands down, just enjoy the experience. Work hard and keep having fun.”

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