Maya DiRado's Olympics glory captivated Sonoma County

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Nothing like a war zone to put life in perspective.

As on top of the world as she is as a four-time Olympic medalist, Sonoma County native Maya DiRado knows it's but a blip on the radar of life.

Since her summer romp through the Rio Olympics, DiRado and her ear-to-ear smile have been through a whirlwind: at the White House, a showing of the popular musical “Hamilton,” at a girls leadership summit in Virginia, and most recently, part of a USO holiday tour to the war-torn Middle East.

In the span of five days through Turkey, Qatar, Afghanistan and Germany, DiRado and a team of other athletes and entertainers visited with American troops

on the front lines of the fight against terrorism.

Everywhere she goes, people want to touch her medals: two golds, a silver and a bronze. They are heavy, shiny reminders of her dominance in the pool, but also a point of American pride and work ethic.

It was no different in the Middle East desert.

“It was so cool putting my medals on these people who were overseas serving our country,” she said.

DiRado was struck by how young many of the soldiers were, many contemporaries of her, at age 23.

“They are just these sweet kids, most of them. So friendly and so smart, operating these massive guns,” she said.

The 75th anniversary of the USO program brought DiRado, along with actors Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans, mentalist/entertainer Jim Karol, country music star Craig Campbell and NBA legend Ray Allen to help ease service members' pain of being away from their families at holiday time.

DiRado called it “amazing” and “overwhelming.”

“I was pestering them with questions about what they did and where they were from,” she said. “Hopefully, we can provide some smiles while we're there.

“If they got a quarter out of it what I got out of it,” her voice trailing off, “I really feel like I was the lucky one in the one in that situation.”

DiRado and her two-year quest for Olympic glory captured the attention of Sonoma County, from her childhood swim coaches, teenage teammates and friends, high school chums and almost anyone who calls Wine Country home.

Sonoma County has had Olympians before - and indeed, four local athletes competed in Rio - but none has returned with such a medal haul as DiRado.

Her tale was The Press Democrat's top local sports story of 2016.

“For the community as a whole, I think it was amazing,” said her youth swim coach on the Neptunes Swim Club, Dan Greaves. “So many people watched; people who don't even watch swimming usually. I've had more people stop me on the street to talk about that race than anything.

“It brought everyone a little closer together,” he said. “The Olympics are something everyone watches … to have one of our own competing is pretty special.”

DiRado, considered the greatest all-around swimmer ever to emerge from this region, was a star swimmer at Maria Carrillo High School, with the Neptunes and at Stanford before etching her name in the Olympic history books.

In Rio, she won a gold medal in the 4-by-200 freestyle relay, a silver in the 400-meter individual medley and a bronze in the 200-meter individual medley. Then, in her last race, one she wasn't expected to win, DiRado surged ahead of Hungarian “Iron Lady” Katinka Hosszu in the final meters for her first individual gold.

The scintillating win, her All-American looks and genuine emotion after the win endeared her to the nation - and sent waves of pride through Sonoma County for one of its own's performance before the world's eyes.

Though DiRado admits to being a little obsessive - a trait that helped immensely in the training repetition inherent in competitive swimming - she was at peace during the entire week in Rio.

Two years ago, she'd decided she was done competing. It takes immense dedication, sacrifice and physical and mental attention, and she didn't think she wanted to continue with it.

She had decided she would quit competing after college, in 2014. But she was strong and was swimming the best times of her life. Her family and friends convinced her to shoot for the Olympics.

“I'm so glad they did,” she said earlier this year. “They knew much better than I did at that point.”

So she rededicated herself to the pool for the next two years. But she also committed to herself that the Olympics would be her swan song, no matter how she did.

That mental decision allowed her to remain at ease during all the hoopla and craziness that marks the storied international competition.

DiRado remains steadfast that she is truly retired. In fact, she's only been in a pool a time or two since that stunner of a victory as her outstretched hand reached to touch the wall 0.06 seconds ahead of the Hungarian star.

“I was preparing for so long and I knew this would be it. It's nice, natural progression,” she said.

She just hasn't gotten the itch again. She does some yoga and runs occasionally to stay fit, but nothing regimented.

“I did do a morning workout when I was overseas, but only because it was the Navy SEALs and they challenged me to a race. I said, ‘For you guys I will do it.' But no morning workouts, none of that.”

DiRado also had a job waiting as an analyst for McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting company, which had already let her defer her start date so she could go through Olympic Trials and then Rio.

Among the many extraordinary memories of her Olympic Games - “stuffing my face with spaghetti on the bus at 2 a.m.” - are the times she spent with other athletes, particularly USA Swimming team members, many of whom she's known for years through college, national and international competitions.

“We weren't able to do opening ceremonies, but we put on our outfits and took pictures walking around the village,” she said. “It was great because so many other athletes were doing that. That was a very special. Putting on those clothes felt very surreal and special.”

A European vacation with her husband, Rob Andrews, was supposed to happen right after the games, but was postponed due to her post-Olympic appearances. They had planned to go to Thailand in December. And then she was asked to join the USO tour and travel was pushed back again.

“Now we're going to Australia and New Zealand for New Year. I'm so excited. It's final happening, knock on wood,” DiRado said.

Her new job has again allowed DiRado to push back her start date, this time until March. In the meantime, she is going through boxes in the couple's new home in Atlanta. Andrews travels often in his role as software engineer for Renaissance Learning, which has offices in Wisconsin, New York and San Jose.

So she is getting settled in their house while Andrews works.

Occasionally, DiRado reflects on her amazing past two years. All the hard work. The rewards. The friends and the travel. The unique experiences - firing a machine gun (“I'm not very good”) and meeting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

And, of course, the medals. Two golds, one silver and one bronze.

An impressive display as she wears them around her neck in a metallic arc. For now, they remain safe in a box in a closet until she can figure out how, or if, to display them at home.

Talk of her medals brings her thoughts back to the service members she met on the USO tour.

“One of the Air Force guys, he was kind of my medal carrier because they have all those pockets on their fatigues,” she said. “He's like, ‘Put the medal on.' And they got passed around the helicopter in Afghanistan.

“That just adds to it … if they have little chinks along the way, it's just better stories.”

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.