Michael Weiss
Michael Weiss was born on May 23, 1991 to parents Alan and Sharon Weiss in Reno, Nevada. Growing up, Weiss swam on Lakeridge Swim Team and swam for his high school Reno High School.
Personal and Youth Swimming:
Throughout the years, Weiss learned a lot from one of his most influential coaches and his number one fan, his mother Sharon, who swam four years at the University of Arizona. Weiss is a former 4 event State record holder (100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard backstroke, 1000-yard freestyle, and 200-yard IM), a 10-time state champion (including club and high school), and was named 2007 Nevada Swimmer of the Year.
Weiss received his Bachelor’s Degree in consumer science, and he has future aspirations of working within sports marketing.
College Swimming
In 2009, Weiss decided to attend the University of Wisconsin as one of their top recruits. In his four collegiate years at Wisconsin, Weiss showed immense improvement going from 19th place in the 400-yard IM (3:56.22) at the 2010 Big Ten Championships his freshman year to a Big Ten title in the 400-yard IM (3:39.17) at the 2013 Big Ten Championships his senior year and a second-place finish (3:39.61) at the 2013 NCAA’s.
In his third season at Wisconsin, Weiss held six NCAA provisional cuts in the 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 400-yard IM, 400-yard freestyle relay, and 800-yard freestyle relay. At the 2012 NCAA Championships, Weiss set two school records in the 400-yard IM (3:43.12) and the 200-yard breaststroke (1:55.78). Weiss’s 400-yard IM got him a third place finish at the NCAA’s, and his 200-yard breaststroke time was good for 16th place at NCAA’s. Weiss was named second-team All-Big Ten, an All-American in the 400-yard IM, and an Honorable Mention All-American in the 200-yard breaststroke.
As a senior, Weiss placed second in the 500-yard freestyle (4:14.07), ninth in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:55.97), and first in the 400-yard IM (3:39.17) at the 2013 Big Ten Championships. Weiss went on to swim at the 2013 NCAA Championships where he placed sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:13.85), 17th in the 400-yard medley relay (3:10.64), second in the 400-yard IM (3:39.61), 23rd in the 800-yard freestyle relay (6:28.43), and 17th in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:55.71).
National and International Swimming
In 2012, Weiss qualified for his first Olympic Trials. At the trials, Weiss finished 16th in the 200-meter freestyle (1:49.49), 19th in the 200-meter IM (2:03.27), and fifth in the 400-meter IM (4:16.31). In 2012, Weiss was named to the US National team and was asked to compete as a member of Team USA at the FINA Short Course Meter World Championships in Instanbul, Turkey. In Turkey, Weiss finished seventh in the 400-meter IM with a 4:07.67 and was also a member of the gold-winning 800-meter freestyle relay. In 2013, Weiss competed at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia. At the games, Weiss won the 400-meter IM and set a World University Games record with a 4:12.00. His time ranks him seventh in the world in the 400-meter IM. Weiss was also a part of the silver-winning 800-meter freestyle relay, splitting a 1:47.66.
Weiss was named to another US National Team for the 2013-2014 season. At the Phillips 66 National Championships in August 2014, Weiss finished fourth in the 200-meter freestyle (1:47.87), 12th in the 200-meter individual medley (2:01.20), and sixth in the 400-meter individual medley (4:16.97). Weiss’s performances earned him a spot on the 2014-2015 US National Team Roster. Shortly after summer nationals, Weiss traveled to Gold Coast, Australia for the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. Weiss finished 16th in the 200-meter freestyle preliminaries with a 1:49.59 (scratched finals swim), 10th in the 400-meter individual medley (4:14.85), and 15th in the 400-meter freestyle preliminaries with a 3:52.83 (scratched finals swim).
2015 World Championships
Weiss made the 2015 World Championships roster as a member of the U.S. 800 free relay.
Michael Weiss is a sponsored A3 Performance athlete.
-Originally Developed by Elle Meinholz
