Michael Andrew Candid in Interview: “There’s a Silver Lining in Missing that Team…”

Editor’s note: this interview was conducted prior to the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Leading up to this past weekend’s first World Cup stop in Berlin, Michael Andrew spent time sightseeing, training, and relaxing with friends and family in Israel. While there, in addition to floating in the Dead Sea, Andrew took time out of his schedule to record an interview with Guy Dar of ShvoongSportTV. The full interview can be watched below, but we have pulled out some of the more interesting quotes.

In response to being asked about the impact his appearance in Israel has in regards to training with local youth swimmers, Andrew responded,

I’m 24 years old, I’m very fortunate to have been, I’ve been swimming professionally for a decade now, which is kind of crazy to say because I still feel like I’m at the beginning of my career, um, but I recognize that there’s things my dad and I have discovered and learned um a lot of them the hard way by failing that we can give to these guys [the club swimmers] so that they can succeed quicker.

Andrew turned pro in 2013 at the age of 14, and in his decade of professional swimming has racked up one Olympic Gold medal, six World Championship medals (one of which is gold), and 11 short course World medals (six of which are gold).

In addition to swimming with younger swimmers, Andrew was noted to have spent some time in the water with Israeli breaststroker Jonathan Itzhaki, who recently raced at the European U23 Championships, saying, “… I train alone. I’m an individual athlete in an individual sport,… so whenever I get to get in the pool with another exceptional athlete, it’s fun because it pushes me.”

One of the major storylines from this summer, at least on the American side, was Andrew missing out on making the 2023 World Championships team. When the subject was brought up, Andrew was candid, stating,

There were a lot of things I was dealing outside of the pool emotionally spiritually that I just like, I think took away from my focus, which is a good thing to like, you know, miss the team and recognize now that had I not got through that experience I wouldn’t have learned from it, and I think I went into it a little too confident being like okay I haven’t missed a team in seven years like this can’t be that hard.

… There’s a silver lining in missing that team, and I think it’s nice to see that all coming to fruition, and it sets us up nicely for World Cups now and then, obviously, the rest of the year going into Paris.

Andrew also stated that, in regards to winning the 50 fly, “I do disagree with the selection… but at the end of the day I recognize the selection procedure is up to them [USA Swimming], … it’s up to me to be physically capable and prepared on the day to race and make that team under the same standards that every other athlete does.”

Swimswam actively covered the selection procedures and posted daily updated expected team rosters for Fukuoka during the course of the meet, but many spectators and even athletes were confused by the procedures, with Andrew noting that he posted about making the team but wasn’t fully aware that he hadn’t actually made the team until a few days later when asked if he received his papers to sign and join the team.

Andrew mentioned that he did not follow or watch worlds in Fukuoka, instead spending time outside of the competitive swimming world, hanging out with his friends, dating, and being happy about not focusing on competition.

Speaking on mental health and the rise in awareness of its importance in the swimming world in light of Caeleb Dressel, Adam Peaty, and Kristof Milak‘s recent absences, Andrew said, “There’s two sides to the coin… It’s important to understand how to deal with it and when to push through, and then obviously, there comes a time where you need to maybe step back for your own health.” “It’s really pivotal that athletes start to recognize their values not tied to their success in the sport.”

On speaking about his schedule Andrew was open, stating his main goal for the rest of this season is to make the 2024  World Champ team with a focus on the 50 free, 200 IM, and 100 breaststroke, all three of which he notes are Olympic events.

To note the full US selection procedures for the 2024 Doha Worlds can be found here, but roughly only the fastest swimmer in each individual Olympic event will qualify, and if the top 10 swimmers opt-out, then no swimmer will be selected for the event. SwimSwam compiled the top 10 swimmers in each event, and currently, Andrew is ranked 3rd in the 50 free, 8th in the 100 breast, and 10th in the 100 fly, meaning that he would need swimmers ahead of him to scratch.

As for the 2024 US Trials, he states his focus will be 50 free, 100 breast, and 100 fly, with the 200 IM being a wildcard due to the scheduling of the trial program. Andrew also teased that maybe the 200 breast would be on the table but is very up in the air on the event as it would be a departure from his normal training program.

In Berlin, Andrew ended up winning the 100-fly and placing second in the 50 free, and despite stating a focus on the 100 breast and 200 IM, he did not race the 100 breast and ended up scratching the final of the 200 IM, after having placed 4th in prelims.