Lawrence Bruce Hayes (born March 8, 1963) is an American former competition swimmer best known for anchoring the U.S. men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

[1][2] Born in Sarasota, Florida, and raised in San Antonio, Hayes was an outstanding Texas age-group swimmer, setting numerous TAGS records.

Hayes' success as a Texas age group and high school swimmer earned him a full scholarship to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

In an event unaffected by the Soviet-led boycott, the Americans would battle a talented West German relay team including the 200-meter freestyle world record holder, Michael Gross.

The U.S. coaches decided to capitalize on Hayes' finishing ability by having him take the final leg behind teammates Mike Heath, David Larson and Jeff Float.

Hayes captured one more national title before retiring when he won the 200-meter freestyle at the 1984 summer United States Swimming Championships, held after the Olympics.

He subsequently earned a master's degree in journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago and then moved to New York City to begin a professional career in public relations.

"[8] In 1992, Hayes became the first American Olympic gold medalist to declare his homosexuality publicly when he was profiled by Dick Schaap for ABC's World News Tonight regarding the challenges of being gay in the sports community.

Hayes swam again at the 2010 Gay Games VIII in Cologne, Germany, winning a bronze in the 1,500-meter freestyle (age 45–49) behind Aaron Murphy (Great Britain) and Jonathan Haines (Australia).