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Haley ANDERSON
Sport Open Water Swimming
NOC United States   
GenderWomen
Born20 Nov 1991 in Santa Clara, CA, USA
Height1.78 m
 Human Interest 
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport?
Coach Catherine Kase suggested she try open water swimming. "My older sister made everything look very graceful. I make everything look very hard. But I think Catherine also thought I had the temperament and the slight craziness that you need to be an open water swimmer. So I did a little camp in the US, an open water select camp. In 2010, I competed in open water nationals for the first time and managed to qualify for the 25km at the world championships in Canada. So my second-ever race was a 25km. That summer, while training for it, Catherine kept telling me the whole time, 'It won't be that bad. Don't worry. It's not that bad'. And afterwards I was like, 'It's not that bad? Not that bad? You psycho! It was that bad! It was awful!'"
General Interest
Milestones
She became the first US athlete to win a medal in open water swimming at the Olympic Games when she claimed silver in the 10km event at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Nov 2018; swimswam.com, 22 May 2018)
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs
"I don't listen to music. If I'm listening to music, it means I'm thinking and being in my own head, and I don't want to be in my own head. I just want to hang out." (fina.org, 29 Jan 2020)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold in the 5km at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. (fina.org, 29 Jan 2020)
Sport Specific Information
Training Regime
"99% of my training is in the pool. It's easier to calculate how fast you're going and keep track of progress throughout the season. But if I have a race coming up in salt water, warm water or cold water, I'll try to acclimate as best as I can."
General Interest
Sporting philosophy / motto
"I don't count my miles. I like to race. If there's someone next to me, I will race them." (fina.org, 29 Jan 2020)
Further Personal Information
Residence
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team
Mission Viejo Nadadores: United States
General Interest
Famous relatives
Her older sister Alyssa Anderson has represented the United States of America in swimming, and won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay. Her mother Colette competed in swimming for the University of Hawaii, while her younger sister Jordan swam competitively for the University of Utah. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 May 2021; usaswimming.org, 08 Nov 2016; USA Swimming, 18 Jan 2013)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach
Catherine Kase [national]
When and where did you begin this sport?
She began swimming at about age five in Livermore Valley, CA, United States of America. She took up open water swimming at the University of Southern California in 2010.
Further Personal Information
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
English
General Interest
Awards and honours
She was named USA Swimming's Female Open Water Swimmer of the Year in 2013, 2015, and 2018. (openwaterswimming.com, 01 Sep 2018; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 05 Oct 2015; washingtonpost.com, 15 Sep 2013)

She was presented with the 2014 Golden Goggles Perseverance Award by USA Swimming in recognition of the gold medal she won at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, after her event was switched from Australia to Hawaii. She shared the award with Andrew Gemmell. (olympictalk.nbcsports.com, 24 Nov 2014)
Further Personal Information
Higher education
Communications - University of Southern California: Los Angeles, CA, USA
General Interest
Hobbies
Reading, watching TV. (usaswimming.org, 01 Jan 2020)
Other information
SIBLING COMPETITION
She has swum competitively against her sisters, Alyssa and Jordan. "Alyssa and I swam 2008 and 2012 US Olympic trials together. After Alyssa retired in 2012, I got to swim the 2016 US Olympic Trials with my little sister, Jordan. It was fun to be around for her career as well. All three of us kind of overlapped in events but we all had different best events. I was definitely more long distance. Alyssa was definitely more 200 free and fly and 400 free. Actually, she could swim anything she wanted to, she's that talented and that annoying. She also had a really good mile, but she wanted to swim other events." (nbcchicago.com, 03 Aug 2021; fina.org, 29 Jan 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has served as a member of the athletes' advisory commission for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "Being a part of the commission for the LA Olympic bid was really exciting. I was pretty bummed that we didn't get [to host] 2024 [Olympic Games], but I'm still happy that it's coming in 2028." (openwaterswimming.com, 01 Sep 2018; Deadspin YouTube channel, 24 Feb 2018)
Other sports
She represented the United States of America in swimming at the 2018 World Short Course Championships in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. She also competed in swimming at the Pan Pacific championships in 2010, 2014, and 2018. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 May 2021)

 Competition Highlights
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 800m Freestyle 8:45.91
Heat 2009 Rome, ITA 1500m Freestyle 16:20.62
World Championships Short Course
Rank Year Venue Event Result
7 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 800m Freestyle 8:18.70
Heats 2018 Hangzhou, CHN 400m Freestyle 4:05.89
World Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
2 2019 Gwangju, KOR 10km 1:54:48.1
3 2019 Gwangju, KOR 5km - Team Relay 53:59.0
5 2017 Budapest, HUN 5km 59:26.2
6 2017 Budapest, HUN 10km 2:00:25.9
2 2017 Budapest, HUN 5km - Team Relay 54:18.1
1 2015 Kazan, RUS 5km 58:48.4
9 2015 Kazan, RUS 10km 1:58:35.9
1 2013 Barcelona, ESP 5km 56:34.2
6 2013 Barcelona, ESP 5km - Team Time Trial 54:44.7
  2011 Shanghai, CHN 25km  DNS
World Series
Rank Year Venue Event Result
  2020   10km  
5 2020 Doha, QAT 10km 1:56:42.9
8 2019   10km  
4 2019 Balatonfüred, HUN 10km 1:58:48.8
4 2019 Doha, QAT 10km 2:03:55.4
9 2018   10km  
2 2018 Balatonfüred, HUN 10km 2:05:53.40
1 2018 Setúbal, POR 10km 2:05:18.89
20 2017   10km  
10 2017 Abu Dhabi, UAE 10km 1:53:01.0
7 2017 Hong Kong, CHN 10km 2:02:16.3
2 2016 Balatonfüred, HUN 10km 2:00:09.81
1 2015 San Miguel de Cozumel, MEX 10km 1:48:01.00
13 2014 Cancún, MEX 10km 2:13:58
19 2014 Setúbal, POR 10km 2:06:13.2
  2012 Lac St. Jean, QC, CAN 10km  DNF
2 2012 Viedma, ARG 10km 2:02:14
4 2011 Cancún, MEX 10km 2:02:02
Pan Pacific Championships
Rank Year Venue Event Result
1 2018 Tokyo, JPN 10km 2:08:24.8
1 2014 Maui, HI, USA 10km 1:59:51.0
10 2010 Irvine, CA, USA 10km 2:00:40.97