Madden was born to Ellen and Mike Madden in 1998, and she has one brother.[1]
Madden is from Mobile, Alabama, and attended UMS-Wright Preparatory School. She set Alabama high school state swimming records in the 50 y freestyle, 100 y freestyle, 200 y freestyle, 500 y freestyle, 100 y butterfly, 100 y backstroke, and 200 y individual medley.[2]
Madden attended the University of Virginia and joined their swimming team during her freshman year of 2017–18.[2]
2019
Madden competed at the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships in March. She won the silver medal in the 500 y freestyle and finished fifth in the 200 y freestyle.[2]
In July, Madden competed at the 2019 Summer Universiade. She won the silver medal in the 200 m freestyle and a gold medal in the women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay.[3]
In March, Madden competed at the 2021 NCAA Division I Championships, the final meet of her NCAA career. She won gold medals in the 200 y freestyle, 500 y freestyle, and 1650 y freestyle, breaking the University of Virginia school record in the 200. Madden also won a gold medal in the women's 4 × 200 y freestyle relay and a silver medal in the women's 4 × 100 y freestyle relay. She helped Virginia win the team championship. Madden won her second straight ACC Swimmer of the Year award.[2][4][5]
In June, Madden competed at the 2020 U.S. Olympic trials. She won the silver medal in the 400 m freestyle and the bronze medal in the 200 m freestyle. Madden made the Olympic team.[6]
In April, Madden competed at the 2022 U.S. International Team Trials while dealing with health problems. Afterward, she took a break from competitive swimming for several months.[5]
In October, Madden competed at the 2023 Pan American Games. She won gold medals in the 400 m freestyle and 800 m freestyle.[3] Madden also won a gold medal in the women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay and a silver medal in the mixed 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.
2024
She competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 4x200m freestyle relay, joined by Claire Weinstein, Katie Ledecky, and Erin Gemmell.[7] With a collective time of 7:40.86, the team won the silver medal.[8]
She also won a bronze medal in the 800 m freestyle for her first individual Olympic medal, with a personal best time of 8:13.00, finishing more than 1/2 a second behind Australian star Ariarne Titmus, and just under 2 seconds behind teammate and gold medal winner Katie Ledecky.
