Michael Andrew has become a famous swimmer before making his first USA National A Team. Breaking over 76 U.S. National Age Group records helped, but it was his decision to turn pro at 14 that captured global headlines.
Michael is the youngest swimmer to turn pro in USA Swimming history. Many swim fans were concerned about the pressures of a pro career on a swimmer so young. At the 2015 Santa Clara Pro Swim, Michael announced his multi-year partnership with Adidas, but he also opened up about the stress and anxiety he experienced the year he turned pro.
Michael will compete at USA Swimming Nationals in San Antonio, Texas August 6-10th. His goal is to make the USA Junior Swimming World Championships Team. 2015 FINA Junior Swimming World Championships take place in Singapore, August 25-30th.
You can follow Michael Andrew on Twitter here.
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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
100 free – July 2015 – M Andrew – 50.6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSB0UTwepKU
Andrew went 23.20 in the 50m free yesterday , which is slower than his 13-14 NAG by a hundredth of a second . Considering he’s 16 now , and only has one sub-23 second 50 to his name , I think he just needs to scrap the freestyle events from his schedule . Both his 50 and 100 free PBs are 11 months old now , he has had no improvement at all in either of these events , there is NO WAY he makes the Olympic team in the 100 . When he breaks 50 , we can start talking ….. But his PB is 51.24 from August of last year . He’s not going 48 ️anytime soon
July 4 Michael trained hard and went water skiing
July 5 Michael’s family took our family water skiing all day
July 6 My son and I trained twice with Michael that day it was very hard
July 7 He trained hard again
July 8 Drove 10 hours to teach in Colorado Springs
July 9 Led a clinic and trained
July 10 went :23.2 in the 50m free at Olympic Training Center, which I think is a hard pool to go real fast in
All in all I think that is pretty amazing. Sure the freestyle needs a little improvement but unshaved, untapered and not 100% from water skiing and teaching, I’d say that’s real good.
I have never commented on this topic before but I had to this time. “Tapered”? I thought the point of this was the swimmer could go best times at any time. No need to taper. I get that the kid was tired. Leave it at that but when people tout the idea that there is no need for taper because it is such a gamble, then it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for not going a best time. The kid was tired, anyone would be with that schedule. Leave it at that.
You need to invest time in reading the literature, otherwise you would know the answer to your question. In USRPT you can go fast at anytime and on a few days of less training can go at or faster then PRs, but to say there is no need for rest, essentially on perma-taper is misinformed. There is no need in USRPT for major deloading like traditional training, because the volume is never very high, nor does it take much to get back up in training for the same reason.
We certainly both agree that the kid was clearly tired from his schedule, but a better understanding of the philosophy and work behind the training will help answer your questions.
In… Read more »
http://coachsci.sdsu.edu/swim/bullets/45d%20PEAKING.pdf
I thought I heard somewhere he went through a pretty major technique cycle this last fall or am I mistaken Josh?
He just went a 50.6 today at Wave the Wheat in Lawrence, KS. Considering where he’s probably at in training, I would not be surprised in the least if he broke 50 at Nationals in August.
if anyone wants to bet 10 to 1 odds that dresele will win a gold i’ll take it. that means I bet 1 dollar you bt a hundred lets go.
Err that looks like you want 100-1. As Mel points out, getting onto the 4×100 free relay is the easiest way to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, and also the easiest way to get a gold. Swimming prelims and getting a soft gold doesn’t come close to winning individual gold, which for Dressel would be around 100-1. Did you see that he still can’t top Michael Andrew’s 200IM 14yr old NAG? That’s just sad.
I’ll start this off by saying I think Michael Andrew is a great young ambassador for USA. He seems like a respectful kid who’s got a bright future ahead of him, and I wish him the best.
That being said, I really don’t think he (and his parents) made the most prudent decision by opting to turn pro at such a young age. Not only is he forfeiting an incredible college swimming experience (and the potential scholarship money he could attain), but he is creating an unnecessary amount amount of pressure for himself. While I admittedly don’t have first-hand experience and perspective, it’s my opinion that his parents pushed for this decision more than anything, if not simply for the… Read more »
WAVE RIDER, Michael Andrew is nice, polite, and humble just like the professional football player Tim Tebow. It’s my opinion they would both be good role models. Michael in swimming and Tebow in football. Both seem to be great human beings and perfect for product endorsements.
I think that Michael Andrew is a great role model for USA youth swimming. He’s polite, humble and fast. He carries himself like Tim Tebow. There is nothing to dislike. I say good luck and show him the $$$$$.
Andrew will break 1.01 this summer . I’m sure of it . I’m also sure that he will have quite a challenge against Whitley , and that he will break 1.01 as well…
Not sure about Michael Andrew being the greatest age group swimmer ever.
Chas Morton OWNS!!
I also still have a certain fondness for Joe Hudepohl: the teenage years.