In a week filled with HBCU football, NFL playoff maneuvers, Steph Curry’s record, Urban Meyer’s downfall and Covid’s wrath across sports, most missed the accomplishment of Kristen Hayden.
Hayden, a member of the Indiana Hoosier diving team, became the first Black woman to win a U.S. national senior title at the USA Diving winter national championships.
The history maker, paired with freshman Quinn Henninger in the Mixed Synchronized 3m event, also became the first Black woman to qualify for the FINA World Championships.
“I don’t think words can even describe the feeling,” said Hayden. “You read about people like that, you watch Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Simone Manuel, but when it’s yourself, it’s insane. I think the whole diving community is headed in the right direction and I just want to be a good example for young Black Americans or any minority really for diving in the U.S.”
On the third dive of the competition, Hayden and Henninger, in their first synchro competition, took the lead and never looked back.
Hayden joins the list of the aforementioned Black Girl Magic trailblazers, particularly those in the pool like Simone Manuel.
She also joins Mike Wright, another aquatic sports history maker. Wright is the only Black male diver to win a U.S. national title, which he accomplished in the 1-meter springboard in 2012.
Now Kristen Hayden, a team member at the 2016 junior worlds, is moving on up to the World Championships.
