McKenzie Siroky has established herself as the leading women's sprint breaststroker in the United States and ranks among the best worldwide. Her rise follows a significant career change from ice hockey to competitive swimming.
Siroky was initially committed to play Division I hockey for Minnesota-Duluth, the defending NCAA runner-up at the time. She chose instead to attend Tennessee for swimming.
The transition faced early challenges. In July 2023, at her first swim meet in a 50-meter pool at Eastern Michigan University, Siroky posted a 1:10.88 in the 100-meter breaststroke preliminaries—short of the 1:10.23 Olympic Trials qualification standard. Accustomed to 25-yard pools used in high school, she sprinted the race and experienced burning in her biceps and stomach cramps. She cried in the hallway and called her aunt to say she regretted leaving hockey.
That day, in her hometown of Livonia, Michigan, Siroky saw a man wearing a USA Swimming shirt bearing a note and autograph from 1996 Olympic gold medalist Sheila Taormina. Taormina was a close friend of Siroky's late mother, Michele, who died from brain cancer in 2017. The note read, "Never give up on your dreams." Siroky described the encounter as "one hundred percent" a sign from her mother.
Siroky contacted Taormina, who advised her to adjust her race strategy for the evening finals, building through the race rather than sprinting from the start. Siroky followed the advice. Her time dropped to 1:09.14, surpassing the Olympic Trials cut. "Ever since then, I haven't doubted," Siroky said.
Now 21, Siroky's performance has made her the top U.S. women's sprint breaststroker. Her current times in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke events rank her second fastest globally this year.
At the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine in August 2026, Siroky secured gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and silver in the 50-meter breaststroke, an event debuting at the 2028 Olympic Games. As she enters her junior year at Tennessee, Siroky holds a strong position to qualify for the next U.S. Olympic team with medal potential in individual events and as a member of the 4x100 medley relay.
Her rise comes as 2016 Olympic gold medalist Lilly King has retired and 2021 gold medalist Lydia Jacoby missed qualification in 2024. Siroky's 29.64 in the 50-meter breaststroke places her second-fastest among American women all-time, behind only King's American record of 29.40. This time ranks sixth-fastest in history. At last year's World Championships, a 29.64 would have earned silver.
Siroky recently posted a 1:06.31 in the 100-meter breaststroke in Canet-en-Roussillon, France, the eighth-fastest time worldwide this season. She claimed a national title in the 100-meter breaststroke with a personal best of 1:05.64, winning by 0.02 seconds and vaulting to third in world rankings. She finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2025 NCAA Championships and was runner-up at the 2026 NCAA Championships.
