Michael Andrew was very aggressive with his morning swim, putting him in the middle of the pool for tonight’s finals. He swam the third fastest time of the morning during prelims and missed his own NAG Record by .20 seconds. Tonight, Michael Andrew put up a fight, finishing in fourth place in the 200 IM. He improved his National Age Group record by exactly one second, touching the wall 1.20 seconds faster than this morning, at 2:04.13.
His splits were:
- 26.15 (26.15)
- 31.65 (57.80)
- 36.88 (1:34.68)
- 29.45 (2:04.13)
When Phelps held this record as a 13-14 year old, he was never under 2:06.
Michael Andrew still has until April 18th to take on the rest of the 13-14 National Age Group Record Book.
michael andrew you would have to make a drug test, it can not be that guy strong fence and boys 20 years
With each new PR, Michael will get a new goal time for his USRPT sets. As such, he will reset his neuromuscular axis to “learn” to swim his new race pace with technique. This probably sounds nerdy, but it works (I believe).
If he does continue on this path and is as great as an 18- and 20-year-old as he is as a 14-year-old — which is still obviously a big question mark — he’s certainly going to cause a lot of coaches and swimmers to reevaluate their training methods.
It would actually be interesting to see Michael Phelps try this for the next two years and see how he does. Most of the talk about his potential comeback has been about how he’d probably be more 100-oriented this time around, which makes it seem as if USRPT would be perfect for him, especially since he may have lost his taste for Bowman’s grueling workouts.
He only has a couple of months left until he ages up. I would really like to see a 2:02 or even a 2:01 in the 200 LCM IM. I would also like to see a 0:50 in the 100 LCM Free. A 0:22.9 would be great to see in the 50 LCM Free. A 1:02 Breast and a 0:56 back (LCM, 100’s) would also be something I want to see too. A 0:53 100 LCM Fly would also be very nice.
As for SCY…..a 1:46 200 IM, 0:46 100 fly, 0:43 100 free, 0:19 50 free would all be something I want to see from him before he ages up.
those times are ridiculous
agreed. The scary part is that most of them aren’t huge drops for him. I’m not sure about the LCM 200IM and 100 free times, though, those would have to be perfect races. Either way, I expect that Michael and Peter will show us some crazy things in the coming months.
Andrew I think is 51 high on 100 free.. 50 low is a huge drop.. even at 15 it will be tough ( Only Thorpe managed it If I am not incorrect)
1:02 breast is also a far shot I´f I am not incorrect, he is around 1:04.. not even Gyurta managed it at 14..
The back is probably the easier to achieve.. the others are highly unlikely.. even at 15 they would be amazing..
Hi Rafael, here are the times (and years) for 100 free for 14, 15, 16, 17 year old boys from the Australian all time list.
14 years
Kyle Chalmers – 50.86 (2013)
Te Haumi Maxwell – 52.14 (2009)
15 Years
Ian Thorpe – 50.21 (1998)
Te Haumi Maxwell – 50.67 (2010)
16 Years
Cameron McEvoy – 49.70 (2011)
Ian Thorpe – 49.71 (1999)
Te Haumi Maxwell – 50.34 (2011)
17 Years
Cameron McEvoy – 48.58 (2012)
Alex Graham – 49.11 (2013)
Te Haumi Maxwell dominated from 14 to 16 years but you won’t find him on the all time list for 17 and 18 years at all. Why? Everyone else caught… Read more »
Raf- He’s been 1:03.8 in the breast, so while .8 isn’t a small drop at that speed, it’s also not a huge drop for MA. 1:02 is doable. I agree about the 100 free, though.
I have no doubt in my mind we’ll see a :50 out of him this summer, just not before April.
Those LCM times are not achievable in the next couple of months.
Well I guess its about time to eat some “humble pie” on this one. So I’m off to the fridge to eat mine.
Also… The big guys (specifically Lochte and Phelps in London) split this race:
Fly, +4, +8, +3…
MA was Fly, +5, +10, +3
While he has work to do, he’s on the right track in my mind… taking that son of a gun out fast and fighting to hang on.
On another note…
It looks like MA and Katrina have been racing so often it takes a race or two to get in the groove… which could be worrisome when they get to competitions in which they aren’t swimming 12-15 times and can’t afford to work into it. Just a thought…
Great swim, especially after a kinda-slow start to this meet (relatively speaking, of course).
I dare say he overswam the front half though. He was in first place (!!!) at the 100, then had the slowest breaststroke split in the field. MA has a great breaststroke, so I look forward to see what he can do as he balances out his race.
Josh
Got a thought for you…. Why don’t you take up the USRPT torch when “Doc” retires? You would be great to crete a balanced discussion of this training method.
Slight correction… Unless I am mistaken, Michael and his dad have mixed in some 50s. But all else you said about Michael certainly seems to be true what little I have been around him (attended the Lawrence clinic).
Think about the USRPT thing…
Yes you are right. He’s been adding 50’s for a few weeks now. USRPT allows for 75’s and 100’s also for distance needs.
There is no doubt the principles of race pace, strategic rest and extreme emphasis on perfect technique keep emerging in successful swimmers and programs. USRPT gives us the science and formula of these principles that anybody can figure out and apply.
I’ve been doing it for 2 weeks and I already feel faster. I have 75 days till Masters Nationals May 2-3. I haven’t trained in 10 years so if I get some records you know it works. Michael Andrew and his family are very generous for being willing to share all their ideas. A… Read more »
josh davis: who is better: Maxime Rooney and Michael Andrew?