Michael Andrew Shows Off New Back End Speed With Fastest 2nd 50 In 100 Breast Prelims

2025 TYR Pro Swim Series — Westmont

Michael Andrew won the men’s 100 breaststroke in this morning’s prelims, swimming 1:00.65 to come in a little more than a second ahead of the rest of the field, but about two-and-a-half seconds off his American record time of 58.14. The most notable part of his swim was not the time or the place, it was the fact that for maybe the first time ever, Andrew had the fastest 2nd 50 split in the field.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Prelims

  • World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, GBR (2019)
  • World Junior Record: 59.01 – Nicolo Martinenghi, ITA (2017)
  • American Record: 58.14 – Michael Andrew (2021)
  • U.S. Open Record: 58.14 – Michael Andrew, USA (2021)
  • Pro Swim Record: 58.86 – Adam Peaty, GBR (2017)

Top 8

  1. Michael Andrew (SUN) – 1:00.65
  2. Garrett Clasen (FMC) – 1:01.78
  3. AJ Pouch (PRVT) – 1:02.32
  4. Apollo Hess (CAN) – 1:02.46
  5. Joao Rodrigues (GTCH) -1:02.56
  6. Michael Houlie (TNAQ) – 1:02.69
  7. Dante Nicola Rho (MCK) – 1:02.72
  8. Uros Zivanovic (GTCH) – 1:03.13

Michael Andrew has been well known for his opening speed and his struggles to close out his races in the same capacity. This appears most frequently in his 200 IM, where he has been under world record pace at the 150 mark a number of times, but he falls off the pace in the last 50.

We might be seeing a new era of Andrew’s swimming, however, ushered in by his new training regimen under ASU head coach Herbie Behm. In this morning’s 100 breaststroke, Andrew split 32.26 on the 2nd 50, almost seven tenths faster than the 2nd fastest swimmer in the field who swam a split of 32.92.

In the last two years, Andrew has been between faster than 1:01.00 15 times, not counting today. Today’s time would rank 14th out of 16. If we ranked just the final 50 splits, it would be 6th. Four of the five times where he has been faster on the 2nd 50 were under 1:00.

Andrew’s 2nd 50 splits from every 100 breast under 1:01 in the last two years:

Meet 1st 50 2nd 50 Final Time
2025 TYR Pro Swim Series- Westmont- Prelims 28.39 32.26 1:00.65
2024 Olympic Trials- Finals 27.73 32.38 1:00.11
2024 Olympic Trials- Semis 27.57 32.08 59.65
2024 Olympic Trials- Prelims 27.38 32.34 59.72
2024 CA Trojan Aquatic Los Angeles Invite- Finals 27.77 32.10 59.87
2024 CA Trojan Aquatic Los Angeles Invite- Finals 27.93 32.49 1:00.42
2024 TYR Pro Series- San Antonio- Finals 27.93 32.39 1:00.32
2024 TYR Pro Series- San Antonio- Prelims 27.87 32.35 1:00.22
2024 Finale Giant Open 27.74 32.48 1:00.22
2024 Meeting Nice Camille Muffat- Giant Series- Finals 27.95 32.90 1:00.85
2024 Meeting Nice Camille Muffat- Giant Series- Semifinals 27.94 31.88 59.82
2024 TYR Pro Swim Series- Knoxville- Finals 27.79 32.62 1:00.41
2024 TYR Pro Swim Series- Knoxville- Prelims 27.85 32.29 1:00.14
2023 U.S. Open- Finals 27.74 31.78 59.52
2023 U.S. Open- Prelims 28.24 31.94 1:00.18
2023 TYR Pro Series- Ft. Lauderdale 27.41 32.57 59.98
2023 TYR Pro Series- Ft. Lauderdale 28.39 32.51 1:00.90

While Andrew was faster on the back 50 than most of these times, his first 50 was tied for the slowest. It will be interesting to watch in tonight’s finals how he navigates his faster back 50 speed with his usual front end speed.

In This Story

13
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

13 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer
18 minutes ago

Michael Andrew training montage, and if so what song?

hillbilly
Reply to  Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer
36 seconds ago

some bible humping jesus song

postgrad swimmer
58 minutes ago

Good sign, early in the season

sjostrom stan
1 hour ago

only michael andrew and chad le clos can make a headline like this

Blutarsky
1 hour ago

Michael is a great American hero! I wish nothing but the best for him.

This Guy
2 hours ago

I kind of think simply building some sort of confidence in his endurance will do a lot of good. Get him to go out nice and easy and make him really learn to use whatever endurance he has. Going to be a little while to break that wiring that’s built in.

I don’t expect a much faster time tonight and no one should. He is hopefully starting to work on endurance and focusing on that, he has the speed and that isn’t the issue. Getting it to work together once he gets a decent aerobic base is when true coaching will come into play

Hmm
2 hours ago

Come home in 30.69….

barelyaswammer
2 hours ago

I’m firmly in the rooting for Michael camp. I hope this is the start of a fruitful second chapter.

Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer
2 hours ago

Would love to see him redeem himself by running down someone in the final 15 meters of a big-meet 100 breast. We’ll see.