Jessica Adele Hardy Meichtry (born March 12, 1987[1]) is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and freestyle events. Hardy earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle and a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relays at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
She has won a total of twenty-eight medals in major international competition, fourteen gold, nine silver, and five bronze spanning the Olympics, World and the Pan Pacific Championships.
She married Dominik Meichtry on October 5, 2013.[7] In September 2017, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child, to be born in the spring of 2018.[8]
In 2015, she released an autobiography, titled Swimming Toward the Gold Lining: How Jessica Hardy Turned Her Wounds Into Wisdom. The book "covers her journey from trials to triumph, from wounds to wisdom, and from setbacks to comebacks. You know her name, but you won’t know her true story until you’ve read [the] book.[9]"
She also has a long history of philanthropy work with organizations such as the USA Swimming Foundation, the Jessie Rees Foundation, the Special Olympics, Surf Aid International, the Long Beach Water Department, and volunteering as an athlete representative on the Olympic Internal Operations Committee, the USA Swimming Steering Committee, and the USA Swimming Athletes’ Executive Committee.[10]
At the 2006 Short Course World Championships in Shanghai, Hardy competed in two individual breaststroke events and swam in the heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay. At the conclusion of the meet, she won a silver and bronze medal. In the 50-meter breaststroke on April 6, Hardy won a bronze medal, finishing behind Jade Edmistone and Brooke Hanson of Australia.[14] Hardy then competed in the heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay (with Mary Mohler, Elaine Breeden, and Amanda Weir) on April 7, and won a silver medal after the United States placed second in the finals.[15] On April 8, Hardy finished in fourth place in the 100-meter breaststroke.[16]
At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, a long course meet, Hardy competed in two individual breaststroke events and in the 4×100-meter medley relay. She won a gold and silver medal at this competition. In her first event, the 100-meter breaststroke, on March 27, Hardy placed fourth.[17] Hardy then swam in the heats of the 4×100-meter medley relay (with Leila Vaziri, Dana Vollmer, and Amanda Weir) on March 31, and won a silver medal after the United States placed second in the finals.[18][19] On April 1, Hardy won the gold in the 50-meter breaststroke.[20]
At the 2008 Short Course World Championships in Manchester, England, Hardy won a total of three gold medals. In her first event, the 50-meter breaststroke, on April 10, Hardy won gold with a world record time of 29.58.[21] In the 4×100-meter medley, on April 11, Hardy teamed with Margaret Hoelzer, Rachel Komisarz, and Kara Denby to win gold in a world record time of 3:51.36.[22] Going into the final of the 100-meter breaststroke, Hardy was the clear favorite for gold. She topped the heats with a time of 1:05.31 and broke the championship record in the semifinals with a time of 1:04.63 both on April 11.[23][24] In the final of the 100-meter breaststroke, on April 12, Hardy won gold with a time of 1:04.22, and broke her own championship record.[25]
Positive drug test
At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Hardy qualified for the USA Olympic Team.[26][27][28] A few weeks later, on July 23, 2008, Hardy was notified that the second of her three tests from the Trials came back as positive for low levels of clenbuterol; this notification subsequently leaked to the media.[29] Her attorney confirmed on July 24, 2008, that Hardy's "A" and "B" samples from a test administered on July 4 were positive for clenbuterol.
Hardy claimed innocence and said she had never even heard of clenbuterol.[30] Media coverage of the issue noted that tainted supplements have played a part in some previous instances of bans, and this was the case this time as well. An example provided has been that of American swimmer Kicker Vencill, who won a lawsuit against a company that provided him with tainted supplements that resulted in a positive test and two-year ban from the sport.[31] Under both American and international regulations, a lack of knowledge of the source of the substance ingested is not considered to be a defense against a positive result.
On August 1, 2008, following Hardy's hearing before the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), USADA released a statement stating, "The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced today that U.S. swimmer, Jessica Hardy, of Long Beach, CA, tested positive for the prohibited substance clenbuterol at the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 4, 2008, and has agreed to withdraw from the 2008 United States Olympic Team in the best interests of the team."[32] On August 1, 2008, Hardy officially, and voluntarily, left the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.[32] In May 2009, it was announced that Hardy would be banned from the sport for one year for the positive test.[33]
Hardy returned from her suspension on August 5, at the U.S. Open National Championships. On August 6, Hardy broke Yuliya Yefimova's world record in the 50-meter breaststroke (long course) with a time of 29.95 to become the first woman under 30 seconds in the event.[36] On August 7, Hardy lowered the world record for the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:04.45. En route to this world record, she also lowered her own world record in the 50-meter breaststroke with a time of 29.80.[37]
At the World Cup on October 17, Hardy broke her own 50-meter breaststroke (short course) record set in April 2008 with a time of 29.45.[38] On November 7, Hardy again bettered her own world record in the 50-meter breaststroke (short course) with a time of 29.36.[39] On November 12, Hardy broke her own world record for the third time with a 28.96, the first woman to go sub 29 in the 50-meter short course breaststroke.[40] On November 15, Hardy bettered her record for the fourth time with a time of 28.80, 0.16 seconds faster than her previous record.[41] Hardy was the overall winner in the female division for the 2009 FINA Swimming World Cup. She received $100,000 in prize money for her efforts.[42]
2010
2010 National Championships
At the 2010 National Championships, Hardy made the American team that competed at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships after finishing second in the 100-meter freestyle. On August 5, despite being the world record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke, Hardy finished in seventh place with a time of 1:09.24. At the first 50, Hardy came in first in 30.92, but faded badly at the end.[43] Hardy did not blame her poor performances on her physical condition but rather her mental state. On her final chance of making the team, on August 7, Hardy finished in second place in the 100-meter freestyle in 54.14, a personal best for her.[44] After the competition, Hardy said, "I've been struggling so much with the pressure I put on myself, especially in the 100 [meter] breaststroke."[45]
2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
Going into the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Hardy said her only goal was to have fun. Hardy competed in two individual freestyle events (the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle), the 50-meter butterfly, the 50-meter breaststroke, and in the 4×100-meter medley and freestyle relays. She went on to win four gold medals.[46] On the first day of competition, on August 18, Hardy competed in the 50-meter butterfly and finished in sixth place.[47] On the second day of competition, on August 19, Hardy didn't qualify to swim in the 100 m freestyle A final and had to compete in the B final. In the 100-meter freestyle B final, she finished first with a time of 54.16.[48] On the third day of competition, on August 20, Hardy won gold in the 50-meter breaststroke and the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In the 50-meter breaststroke, Hardy won gold in a time of 30.03.[49] Less than an hour later, Hardy competed in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Weir and Dana Vollmer. As the second leg of the relay, Hardy had a 53.43 split, the fastest in the field.[50] The next day, on August 21, Hardy competed in both the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter medley relay. In the 50-meter freestyle, Hardy won gold in a championship record time of 24.63, just ahead of Amanda Weir who recorded a time of 24.70.[51] Hardy then competed in the 4×100-meter medley relay with Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer and Rebecca Soni. As the freestyle leg, Hardy recorded a time of 53.12 and the American team went on to win the gold medal in a time of 3:55.23.[52]
Hardy won the 50-meter breaststroke at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, China. She swam the race in 30.19 seconds, beating defending champion and training partner Yuliya Efimova by 0.3 seconds. It was her first win in the event since 2007.[53] After qualifying from the 50-meter freestyle heats with the joint fastest time,[54] she finished eighth in the final.[55] She also won a silver medal with the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.[2]
At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Hardy won the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24.50 seconds, and also won the 100-meter freestyle in 53.96 seconds, thus qualifying to compete in those two events, as well as the 4×100-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter medley relays, at the 2012 Olympics. She also competed in the 100-meter breaststroke, and placed third in the final behind Olympic newcomer Breeja Larson and veteran Rebecca Soni.[citation needed]
Hardy won a gold and two bronze medals at the long course 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.[2] Her first bronze medal was in the 100 breaststroke, with her best time coming from the heats with a 1:05.18. Her second bronze medal was in the 50 breaststroke, tying her American Record time of 29.80 seconds. The gold medal was in the 4x100-meter medley relay, swimming with Missy Franklin, Dana Vollmer, and Megan Romano.
Despite competing on a SLAP shoulder tear, fractured ribs, and a micro-fracture in her left knee,[58] Hardy was able to compete in the final of the 50 breaststroke, finishing fifth.[59] She also placed 4th in the 4x100 medley relay, and 10th in the individual 100 breaststroke.[59] She was again voted team captain of the 2015 World Championships team along with Elizabeth Beisel, Cammile Adams, Matt Grevers, Anthony Ervin, and David Plummer.[60]
