2019 PRO SWIM SERIES – DES MOINES
- March 6th-9th, 2019
- Wellmark YMCA, Des Moines, Iowa
- LCM (50m), Prelims-Finals
- Live Results
- Psych Sheets
- TV/Webcast Info
- Event Schedule
Michael Andrew brought in a prize money haul in Des Moines, winning five events and earning a big relay bonus to lead all money earners on the 2019 Pro Swim Series.
Andrew won the 50 free, 100 breast, 50 back, 100 back and 50 fly, plus was second in the 50 breast for a solid cash influx. His $13,500 in earnings on the series as a whole has him $4000 ahead of the next-best earner. He also benefited from an odd scenario in the SwimSquad relay event:
With USA Swimming giving $1000 ($250 apiece) to the winning relay, plus $1000 ($250 apiece) to the relay with the fastest composite reaction time (an add-up of the three relay reaction times on each relay), the athletes showed which bonus they clearly felt was easier to attain. With athletes pushing their relay starts in the hunt for the $1000 bonus, three of the four SwimSquad relays disqualified. (The Jaeg-train had reaction times of -0.06 on Andrew Wilson and -0.08 on Gabby DeLoof. The DiRadSquad had a -0.07 from Jack Conger and the Beisel Bunch got a -0.06 from Michael Chadwick).
That meant the only relay to finish the race – Adams Family’s Jacob Pebley, Annie Lazor, Kelsi Dahlia and Andrew – won both the winning $1000 prize and the $1000 relay start prize. That added $500 to Andrew’s winner’s purse from Des Moines.
In the hunt for the overall series title (and $10,00 bonus), Kathleen Baker has overtaken the absent Katie Ledecky for the top swim on the women’s side. Baker’s 100 backstroke was worth 946 FINA points, and runner-up Olivia Smoliga also beat Ledecky’s top score of 937 from Knoxville.
On the men’s side, Will Licon surged in the 200 breast to tie the top swim of the series, a 100 back from Ryan Murphy (also absent in Des Moines). But Murphy maintains the tiebreak based on a better FINA score in his second-best event.
Prize Money System
The top 3 in each individual event will earn money. The top prelims swim in an individual Olympic event (based on FINA points) earns a $1500 bonus, one for the men and one for women. The swimmer with the top individual Olympic event swim (based on FINA points) of the entire series will earn a $10,000 bonus.
Individual Events (including stroke 50s)
- 1st: $1500
- 2nd: $1000
- 3rd: $500
Top Prelims Swim (individual Olympic events)
- $1500
SwimSquad Relay
- $1000 ($250 apiece) to winning relay
- $1000 ($250 apiece) to relay with fastest add-up relay reaction times
Top Overall Swim for Series (individual Olympic events)
- $10,000
Top Swim Series Leaders
The top swims of the entire series will earn $10,000 bonuses – one for the top man and one for the top women. Here are the current leaders. New swims are in bold:
Women:
| Rank | Athlete | FINA Points | Time | Event | Meet |
| 1 | Kathleen Baker | 946 | 59.17 | 100 Back | Des Moines |
| 2 | Olivia Smoliga | 938 | 59.35 | 100 Back | Des Moines |
| 3 | Katie Ledecky | 937 | 15:45.59 | 1500 Free | Knoxville |
| 3 | Regan Smith | 937 | 59.37 | 100 Back | Knoxville |
| 5 | Wang Jianjiahe | 934 | 15:46.69 | 1500 Free | Des Moines |
Men:
| Rank | Athlete | FINA Points | Time | Event | Meet |
| 1 | Ryan Murphy | 927 | 53.17 | 100 Back | Knoxville |
| 1 | Will Licon | 927 | 2:09.90 | 200 Breast | Des Moines |
| 3 | Nic Fink | 926 | 2:09.93 | 200 Breast | Des Moines |
| 4 | Josh Prenot | 925 | 2:09.96 | 200 Breast | Knoxville |
| 5 | Marius Kusch | 913 | 51.35p | 100 Fly | Des Moines |
*Murphy wins the tie with Licon at this point, based on his better second-best FINA points score, an 894 200 back from Knoxville.
Full Money Lists
Note: the following list tracks “money earned,” though not necessarily “money received.” Athletes maintaining amateurism for high school or NCAA swimming have restrictions on how much prize money they can accept.
I see people complaining about how that’s not a lot of money, but a few years ago I think the PSS paid out like $500 for a win, might’ve even been $300
Unless the sponsorship money is really good, this is a tough way to make a living. When you figure in the training hours, I wonder how many “pro” swimmers are making more than minimum wage.
Need to generate more interest/better marketing.
If your only income is pro series money, yeah, this probably doesn’t quite break even. For the national teamers, they already get like $40k per year from USA Swimming so they’re all above minimum wage already before prize money, clinic money, etc. If you don’t get that National Team stipend, though, it’s gotta be tough.
40k a year will be burnt through fast between a rent/mortgage (especially in California) plus paying for coaches / personal training / recovery specialists/ seeing doctors travel and hotel expenses.
This is why Madeline Dirado did not go pro.
Totally agreed, just addressing the minimum wage comment. Being a pro athlete comes with some unique expenses. I think Maya Dirado and Connor Jaeger made smart decisions as far as knowing when to hang up the suit and find a stable gig instead, but Michael Andrew’s decision to go pro is being vindicated more each year as well, given his many strengths and the high amount of attention he gets on a regular basis.
Not every elite swimmer is going to be able to make the pro-life work, unfortunately, but those with national team status and a suit deal are almost certainly above the break-even point. If you do clinics and travel to the big-payout events (Maya Dirado could have… Read more »
NBA/NFL star players earn half million per game, while our top swimmers only get $10k for a 4 days meet. Long way to go, USA swimming.
They also attract 20K to 100K fans per game while having a healthy TV contract and corporate sponsorship’s. The money has to come from somewhere and with the NFL there’s a weekly game and NBA has multiple games per week. There’s no way swimming can raise that type of revenue on a regular basis.
You missed my points. the current format in swimming meet does not provide enough fun for audience and basically only focuses on competition among swimmers. all other professional sports are good to attract audience to generate revenue. That is why there is a long way ahead for USA swimming. Significant changes in both the system and format are necessary.
$9000 sad but i guess better than nothing
9000 more than I ever made at sport
for where he is at right now , i am sure he is happy with 9,000$
Well, he has his Adidas contract too, which presumably has performance bonus clauses. Adidas has has to like seeing their guy in their gear cleaning house in a series where one of their main rivals (TYR) is the title sponsor. Wouldn’t be surprised if there was a little extra jingle for young Michaels pocket from them for high-pointing a Pro Series meet.
$3K/day average to be paid for participating in a recreational activity. It’s a far cry from the big 3 pro sports, but those pro sports bring BILLIONS to franchise owners and cities.
Not bad money while still living at home.
About that… Still can’t figure out what the Andrews due for money out side of Michael’s swimming.
My memory is a bit spotty on specifics but I believe Tina has been running a company since they came to the US that helps immigrants get settled/find work in America. Peter does private lessons and probably gets money for some speaking engagements/consulting. He also built a pool in their old backyard so I’m sure if they were really hurting for money he could do well as a handyman.
His mom has a job in California
Does anyone know how prize money is taxed?
There’s actually a full article about this in a recent issue of SwimSwam Magazine. It’s more complicated than this, but in short, they pay the same federal income taxes that any other self-employed person would, and are also subject to state income taxes in Iowa. Iowa has 9 tax brackets, and the rates are very, very low on the prize money that most athletes are making from this meet. Here are the current rates: https://www.tax-brackets.org/iowataxtable
927 FINA points equates to a 7:43 in the men’s 800 🤣 haha wtf
You’re inZane
Just go faster lol 😁
At this point (admittedly still a pretty long way out) most people would agree MA is the favorite for the 2nd 50 slot at the Olympics. Is he becoming one of the favorites for a spot in the 100 breast, 100 back and 100 fly? Conger is my bet for the 100 fly but it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see MA try for all 3 of those. Has anyone ever made the Olympics in 4 different strokes? I don’t know enough about the Olympic trials to comment on the event lineup. Maybe if things are too close together it could throw a wrench in the plans.
I can’t think of any, but it certainly is a strange situation where he is in the conversation for top 2 of every stroke 100, but not in the conversation for best IM. I would bet any other time in history where someone has been so good at all 4 they also would have been able to throw together a great IM
Maybe because he doesn’t train for a 200????
I mean I get that, and it’s not a knock against him, it’s just interesting
Mr Po
I think it’s too early to talk about the top 3 favorites for the 50 free. I’m sure the medalists will be Proud, Andrew and Dressel, but in what order?
1) The duo Dressel/Andrew might look like a lock right now. History taught us that the US scene might change fast.
2) The human body responds to a varied set of stimuli. The fact that swimmers can be world class in 100/200/400 or 50/100/200 indicates that technical perfection is complex but also that the sport is far from fully developed. The Andrew way is very interesting.
3) Some Individual recovery hasn’t had much place in traditional swim training. Instead doses has mostly been built framed with group plans.
Based on youth and consistency, I would call him the favorite in the 100 breast, although there are a lot of pretty equal contenders. The 2nd 100 fly spot is wiiiiide open, IMO.
To me he’s a favorite as one of the two spots for the 100 breast.
100 back I don’t see happening. America is just too deep in the event and I can’t see him adding three more swims for a swim that is such a stretch. I mean, he’d need to drop about 1.25 seconds to be in the running and I don’t see him dropping that kind of time in the next year and a half.
100 fly I think he’s got a shot, but it’ll depend on how some of the other guys do or don’t develop over the next year and a half.
It’s a shame he hasn’t been able to get his 100 free… Read more »
agreed with your analysis .
Not necessarily 4 different strokes but in 08 Phelps qualified in the 2 free, 2 I’m, 2 fly, and 2 back
It’s obvious that traditional training will give you a larger drop with taper. It’s not obvious that the final time would be better with traditional swimming. Definitely not for everyone. If you assume that MA would be the same speed at the end of the season with traditional or USRPT then how could anyone argue that USRPT is not the best choice for him? It allows him to clean up at these money meets.