Michael Andrew
Michael Andrew is an athletic phenom, first gaining notoriety for breaking numerous National Age Group Records in his teens. Over the course of his young career, the Kansas native has broken more than 100 National Age Group (NAG) records. He has also broken Junior World Records in the 50m free, back, and fly, taking down all three at the 2017 World Junior Championships. In short course meters, Andrew won a World Championships gold in the 100 IM at age 17.
Fast forward into his 20s, Andrew picked up an Olympic berth at the age of 22 at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Turning Pro – June 2013
Andrew is one of the youngest swimmers in recent memory to turn professional, doing so June 2013 at the tender age of 14. Andrew signed with P2 Life, a high-performance nutrition supplement manufacturer, therefore, giving up his high school and NCAA eligibility. See complete story here.
At the age of 14, Michael signed his second partnership with Fortune 500 company Mutual of Omaha, specifically for their Mutual of Omaha BREAKOUT Swim Clinic tour. See complete story here.
At the age of 16, Michael signed a multi-year partnership with Adidas, joining mega-stars Allison Schmitt and Brazil’s Cesar Cielo in representing the competitive swim brand. See complete story here.
Michael Andrew – Coached by his father Peter Andrew
Blessed with height, as well as hefty hands and feet, young Michael was born in the United States by two excellence driven parents. Former naval diver father Peter and former British Gladiator mother Tina were both born and raised in South Africa and, with Michael and sister Michaela, see Michael’s career as a family affair. Their family home in Lawrence, Kansas even sports its own training facility in the backyard. An 87′ x 16′ above ground pool with a deck around is where Michael is trained by father, Peter, according to the science-based methodology coined Ultra Short Race Pace Training, or USRPT.
USRPT
Michael Andrew credits his success in swimming largely to his training style, USRPT, aka Ultra Short Race Pace Training. USRPT is a training format built on scientific evidence gathered by Dr. Brent Rushall. It is race-pace training using an ultra-short training format.
Meeting Dr. Brent Rushall – Choosing USRPT
After meeting Dr. Brent Rushall, the San Diego State University professor considered by most to be the expert on USRPT, at an ASCA conference in 2009, Michael’s parents were enthralled with the ideas and tenets of this unique training method. The training system’s credo dictates that swimmers engaging in USRPT undergo very specific training with very specific times, thus eliminating what is termed junk yardage. This concept appealed both to Michael and Peter. Instead of trudging out 12,000 yards daily through traditional training, Michael swims in the range of 2500 to 3000 yards per day, focusing on the same speed he would churn in a race. Intensity and top speed are certainly keys to USRPT, but the overall goal is to perfect technique.
Team Andrew Indie Swimming – The Brand
Team Andrew Indie Swimming (now the Race Pace Club) provides opportunities through private coaching and year round swim camps for excellence-oriented competitive swimmers to achieve their full potential in the sport. Swimmers are exposed to individualized programs that innovatively employ appropriate scientific principles from the bio-mechanics, psychology, and physiology of human performance. The relevant nature of this orientation leads to performance improvements.
The principles that guide Team Andrew Indie Swimming training and competitive activities focus on relevant procedures that prepare swimmers to improve and race in a satisfying manner. A consistent factor that underlies program content is the evaluation of training performances and the analysis of their relevance to intended swimming races.We are a coach owned club.
Michael Andrew – Faith and Swimming Goals
Having been raised with love and purpose, Michael relishes opportunities to race and compete, and also dreams of revolutionizing the sport. He is vocal about his relationship with God and believes that, through his inpool success, he is revealing the glory of God to the world. Says Michael, “It’s not about me. It is not about swimming. It is about the ability I’ve been blessed with and the circumstances I’ve been blessed with. I’ve been blessed to able to do what I love, to hone my talents in a fun and loving environment while pursuing excellence and giving all the glory to God.”
National/International career
Michael has been dominating the international swimming scene since his debut in 2015 at the Junior World Championships.
2015 Junior World Championships (Singapore, Singapore)
In Singapore, Michael was named FINA Male Swimmer of the Meet after collecting a gold, three silvers and a bronze medal. His gold came in the 50 meter backstroke. After breaking the Championship Record in the heats, he went on to take down the rest of the field in the final in another Championship Record of 25.13. His silver medals came in the 50 meter freestyle and butterfly and the 400 meter medley relay. His bronze came in the 400 meter mixed medley relay.
Despite an impressive showing, Michael was disappointed with his performance at the Junior World Championships. He said he was looking to break Junior World Records and pick up more than his one gold medal and that the absence of his father and coach made a big impact on him.
2016 U.S. Olympic Trials (Omaha, Nebraska)
At just 17 years old, there were a lot of eyes on Michael in Omaha to see if he would make to Olympic Team. He came agonizingly close, but was unable to push his ticket to Rio. His first event was his best event, the 100 meter breaststroke. He broke the Junior World Record in the heats and then again in the final, but his 59.82 mark was just 0.64 seconds away from making the team as he touched home in fourth.
He also reached the final in the 200 meter individual medley, but scratched to focus on the 50 meter freestyle semi final that fell on the same night. After finishing 11th, he failed to move on to the final. Michael also swam in the 100 meter butterfly finishing 15th overall and 100 meter freestyle finishing 76nd overall.
Michael Andrew on his way to the world title in the 100 IM (photo: Mike Lewis)
2016 World Short Course Championships (Windsor, Canada)
Michael won his first senior international medal at the World Short Course Championships in Windsor, Canada. He swam to the gold medal in the 100 individual medley in 51.84. He also placed 23rd in the 200 IM (1:57.87) and 9th in the 50 breast (26.39).
2017 World Junior Championships (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Going into the 2017 World Junior Championships, Michael knew he was again swimming a lot of 50’s and had adjusted his training accordingly for the season, which paid off in a big way for the 18-year-old at his swan song for junior competition. Andrew broke world junior records in the 50m free (21.75), back (24.63), and fly (23.22), taking gold in all 3 as well. He also earned a bronze in the 100m breast (1:00.37), and 8th place in the 200m IM (2:07.27).
2018 U.S. National Championships (Irvine, California)
Andrew won the 50 butterfly title at the Phillips 66 National Championships in 22.93, topping American record holder Caeleb Dressel by four hundredths of a second. After his first national title, Andrew picked up the 50 breaststroke title in a U.S. Open record time of 26.84, the 50 freestyle gold in a personal best 21.49, and the 100 breaststroke (59.38) national championship. Andrew also finished third in the 100 butterfly (51.68), fourth in the 50 backstroke (24.62) and 26th in the 100 freestyle (49.87).
2018 Pan Pacific Championships (Tokyo, Japan)
Andrew started things off in the 100 breast, where out of prelims he was 59.55 for 3rd seed. In finals, he slipped to 7th place in 1:00.04. He then came back in the 400 mixed medley relay and split 59.21 to help the USA secure a bronze medal, Andrew’s first major international medal. Andrew swam the 100 back on day 2 (53.55) and 100 fly on day 3 (51.53), both of which were best times and won him the B-final in each. He finished off his pan pacs performance with a gold in the men’s 50 free, touching for first in a time of 21.46, his first major individual international medal (and gold).
2018 Short Course World Championships (Hangzhou, China)
In Hangzhou, Andrew took on a hefty schedule, swimming 50 free, 50 breast, 100 breast, 50 fly and 100 IM individually. Though he didn’t net any medals individually, he did take home 5 medals from swimming on USA relays, including 4 golds and 1 silver.
2019 SwimSwam Summer Preview Cover
In June, 2019, Michael Andrew graced the cover of SwimSwam magazine for the first time, highlighting his move to California, how he trains differently, and what the summer of 2019 holds for the swim star.
ISL – New York Breakers
On June 18, 2019, Michael Andrewwas announced as a member of the New York ISL team, headed by his mother, GM Tina Andrew.
2019 World Championships (Gwangju, South Korea)
Andrew started his program with the 100 breast and 50 fly. Andrew placed 19th in the 100 breast (1:00.04) and 4th in the 50 fly (22.80). From there, he swam the 50 breast (26.93, 7th), 50 free (21.62, 6th), and 50 back (24.58, 5th). On the final day, he swam prelims of the 4×100 medley relay, which went on to win silver, netting Andrew his first ever long course World Champs medal.
2021 Olympic Trials
Michael Andrew‘s first swim of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials couldn’t have gone any better. Andrew, who set a new U.S. Open Record of 58.67 in the men’s 100 breaststroke exactly one month before, slaughtered the American Record by almost half-a-second in the morning’s prelims in a time of 58.19, launching him up to third all-time in the event’s history.
On night 2 in the 100 breast final, Michael Andrew touched first 58.73, making his first-ever Olympic team.
Andrew went on to qualify for the team in the 200 IM (1:55.44, 1st place at trials) and the 50 free (21.48, 2nd place at trials) individually.
2020 Olympic Games
In his first Olympic Games, Andrew swam in 4 finals across the 8-day meet. He started things in the 100 breast, where he placed 4th overall at 58.84. Later in the meet, he swam in the 200 IM final, placing 5th at 1:57.31.
On the last day of competition, Andrew swam in the 50 free final, placing 4th at 21.60. He was back in the water soon after in the 4×100 medley relay, swimming the breaststroke leg out of lane 1 and splitting 58.49 to help USA touch first in a world record. This marked Andrew’s first Olympic medal, a gold.
2022 World Championship Trials
Michael Andrew was relatively quiet at the start of the meet, not swimming anything on Day 1 and only the 50 fly on Day 2, where he placed 2nd at 22.87. On night 3, however, he swam 3 events: the 100 fly, 50 breast, and 50 back.
He placed 2nd in the 100 fly (50.88), officially qualifying him for the world champs. Minutes later, he came back in the 50 breast to not only win by .03, but set new American and US Open records in 26.52. He finished his night by placing 5th in the 50 back (24.80).
2022 World Championships
Andrew had an up and down start to his World Champs on night 1, making the final of the 50 fly but then getting 9th in the 100 breast semis just minutes after, missing the final. On night 2, Andrew made the most of his single race, touching at 22.79 in the 50 fly to earn bronze, his first individual LCM worlds medal, behind his USA teammate Caeleb Dressel and Brazilian Nicholas Santos.
Andrew was back in the 50 breast, seeded 2nd heading into the final and holding on for a medal, touching at 26.72 for bronze behind teammate Nic Fink and Italian Niccolo Martinenghi.
On night 7, Andrew made history by winning silver in the 50 free in 21.41. This was not only a PB for Andrew, but made him the first athlete ever to medal at a world championships in 3 50s.
