Becoming a two-time Olympic men’s swimming champion was a process that Hunter Armstrong acknowledges is beyond anything he could have envisioned when he was a competitor for Dover High School.
The numerous hours he spent in the pool, though, were only part of the reason he has become successful enough to be inducted into the Circle of Champions as part of the 2025 class.
“I didn’t think I had a ton of adversity throughout high school, but the biggest skills I had were to manage my time because I was also in choir, musical theater, I was in all the clubs, and I spent my time in as many sports as I could to just develop as an athlete rather than specializing,” Armstrong said. “With so many activities, you learn how to manage your time, manage your emotions, and navigate your day, which is a skill that has helped me tremendously on an Olympic and international level.”
Armstrong also played football for Dover as both his father, Ryan, and his older brother, 2015 Dover graduate Jake Armstrong had, but it became clear by his junior year that Hunter’s future was brightest in the pool.
Hunter placed 13th in both the 50-yard freestyle (21.49 seconds) and 100 backstroke (51.64) as a junior in the Division I state meet for the Tornadoes. He also was a U.S. Open qualifier in both events that year.
“I played football in high school as well, and when it came to my junior year, I had to decide what I wanted to do in college,” Armstrong said. “My dad played football in college and my brother swam and played football in high school, and he’s four years older than me. I picked a sport I thought would give me the best scholarship opportunity, which happened to be swimming.”
During his senior season at Dover, Armstrong turned in state runner-up finishes in both the 50 free (20.14) and 100 free (44.27) to close his prep career as an eight-time all-state competitor.
While Jake Armstrong went on to become a two-time 100 breaststroke champion for West Virginia, Hunter began hitting a new plateau as he was about to enter college.
He was a two-time All-American at the club level, qualifying in 2019 for the Phillips 66 U.S. Nationals and for the 2018-19 Speedo Junior Nationals. In 2019 at the Junior Nationals, he set the meet record while winning the 100 back and also won the 50 free and 100 free. He was ranked eighth in the 50 free and 50 back, 13th in the 100 back, and 14th in the 100 free in the 2019 FINA 18U World Rankings.
He also earned an Olympic Trials cut in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 back.
“My older brother and I are very competitive,” Hunter said. “My mom played basketball, and my dad played football (in college), and that’s how they met. Truthfully, I don’t know what got my brother into swimming, but the thing that brought me into swimming was that I wanted to be better than him. We are very, very competitive.
“My team at Dover was just amazing. Not necessarily talent-wise, although we were good, but I grew up swimming with those boys and it truly was a family. I actually didn’t start swimming the backstroke a lot until college. I wanted to go to college for as cheap as possible, and swimming is what happened to help me.”
Armstrong followed in his brother’s footsteps and competed at West Virginia as a freshman where he placed in three events at the Big 12 championships in 2020.
He then transferred to Ohio State where he became a Scholar-Athlete and helped the Buckeyes earn a seventh-place finish at the 2021 NCAA championships, swimming on the 200 medley relay that finished fourth and placing 13th in the 100 back.
He also qualified for Team USA for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which were held July 23-Aug. 8, 2021 and went on to help the 400 medley relay win the gold medal.
Armstrong was named Ohio State’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2021-22 after winning five titles at the 2022 Big Ten championships.
In addition to setting the world record in 2022 in the long course 50-meter backstroke, Armstrong has won seven gold medals over the past three World Championships.
At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he won silver in the 50 back and as part of the 400 medley relay, bronze in the 100 back, and gold as part of both the 400 free relay and 400 mixed medley relay.
Armstrong swam the Indiana University Natatorium record while winning the 100 back (52.33) at the Phillips 66 USA National Championships in 2023.
During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Armstrong was part of the U.S. team’s gold-medal-winning 400 free relay as well as its 400 medley relay which earned the silver medal.
“It’s honestly beyond words,” Armstrong said. “I’m competing with absolute legends. I never competed with (23-time gold-medalist Michael) Phelps, but he was there, and so was (nine-time gold-medalist) Caeleb Dressel, people that have set the world on fire. Now we’re playing (card games together) in the team room. It was so great that you’re seeing these heroes, and now you’re best friends with them. It reminds you that they’re just people, too.”
Armstrong is looking for continued success as part of the U.S. swimming team.
In addition, he recently graduated from Ohio State and is planning to eventually receive a teaching certificate.
At 24, Armstrong is one of the youngest inductees into the OHSAA Circle of Champions, which he calls an “absolute honor.”
He credits much of the success he’s enjoyed in his life so far to when he learned how to compete at the prep level.
“I’m heavily involved with my church, (and) I’ve also started substitute teaching,” Armstrong said. “Right now, I’m just trying to figure out life. You can’t swim forever, so I’m trying to navigate how I want my life to look outside of the sport.
“I think sports are probably one of the most important things people can do with their lives. You don’t have to be an Olympian, but it promotes a healthy lifestyle and teaches you a ton of life skills that will help you forever.”