Maya DiRado

Early years DiRado is the second daughter of Stanford alumni Marit (née Parker) and Ruben DiRado. He moved to the United States at the age of three. Marit and Ruben met through a Christian fellowship group at Stanford. Maya received her short name from her older sister, Sarah, who had difficulty pronouncing “Madeline.” At the age of 17, DiRado graduated from Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, where she was a three-time high school state champion in the 200 yard IM. In her senior year in 2010, she set the California state record with a time of 1:56.17 in the 200 yard I.M.

College career As part of a long line of Stanford graduates, DiRado followed in her family's footsteps and attended Stanford University. In her freshman year, she finished second in the 200 yard IM (individual medley) with a time of 1:54.66 and third in the 400 yard IM (4:01.02) She finished second in the 400 meter IM in 4:35.37, compared to 4:31.99 swam by her teammate and winner Elizabeth Beisel. DiRado also finished ninth in the 200 meter butterfly.

2015 World Championships

DiRado swam two events at the 2015 World Championships, the two individual medleys. In her first event, the 200 meter IM, DiRado just finished outside of a medal, touching fourth with a time of 2:08.99. However, she won her first individual World Championship medal in the 400 meter IM, in which she finished second in 4:31.71 behind Katinka Hosszú.

2016 Summer Olympics

At the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, the U.S. qualifying meet for the Rio Olympics, DiRado qualified for the U.S. Olympic team for the first time by winning the 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley, and 200-meter backstroke.

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, DiRado won four medals – two gold, one silver, and one bronze. On the first night of competition, DiRado touched second in the 400-meter individual medley in 4:31.15 behind Katinka Hosszú, who broke the world record. She also won a bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley in a personal best time of 2:08.79, behind Hosszú and Siobhan-Marie O'Connor who won gold and silver respectively. Even though she did not swim the 200-meter freestyle at Trials, DiRado was placed in the finals relay lineup for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay by the coaches. Along with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Katie Ledecky, DiRado won her first gold medal of the Olympics. In her final event, the 200-meter backstroke, DiRado again faced Hosszú, who was favored to win the event. Hosszú led for the entire race until DiRado surged in the last 25 meters and out touched Hosszú by 6 one-hundredths, 2:05.99 to 2:06.05, for the win.

DiRado visiting a U.S. military base in Afghanistan in December 2016

2016–2021: Retirement and redirection DiRado retired from the competitive swimming side of the sport following her performances in August 2016 at her Olympic debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was still retired from competitive swimming as of August 2021. DiRado married former Stanford swimmer Rob Andrews on September 19, 2015 at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Rosa, California. The two met while they were both on the Stanford swim team. In August 2021, DiRado announced she and her husband were pregnant and expecting a boy. An article on the announcement published by SwimSwam was the 19th most read article out of all articles published on SwimSwam for the 2021 year. In January 2022, DiRado announced the birth of her and her husband's son, whom they named Charlie Alan Andrews. In April 2024, DiRado announced the birth of her second child Eleanor.

In March 2017, she joined the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company as a Business Analyst. While at McKinsey & Company, DiRado supported strategic health care provider procurement improvements and implemented risk identification programs in the banking industry. As of October 2025, she was part of the Investor Relations team at the global venture capital firm General Catalyst in San Francisco.

In addition to her parents, DiRado has several other family members who are Stanford alumni, including her maternal grandfather, maternal great-aunt, aunt, sister, brother-in-law, and husband.

Personal best times Event Time Location Date Notes 200 m IM 2:08.79 Rio de Janeiro August 9, 2016 400 m IM 4:31.15 Rio de Janeiro August 6, 2016 200 m butterfly 2:07.42 Gold Coast August 21, 2014 100 m backstroke 1:00.36 Santa Clara June 4, 2016 200 m backstroke 2:05.99 Rio de Janeiro August 12, 2016