Michael Andrew is back in the National Age Group Record business, breaking the 15-16 100 meters breaststroke NAG with a 1:01.67. The performacne is significant for two reasons. Michael broke the NAG as a 15 year old (he turns 16 April 18th) and he won his first major competition, the 2015 Arena Pro Swim Series in Austin, Texas.
Michael’s spending three months in South Africa, competing and visiting family. His parents were born and raised there, and they strive to return to see extended family, Michael’s grandparents specifically. Michael’s already gearing up to race international swim star and South African Olympic Champion Chad le Clos. See here.
Rumors have been swirling that Michael’s testing the South African Swimming lifestyle to see if he wants to represent them in the 2016 Olympics. Michael and Team Andrew have given no indication they are. Michael enjoyed representing Team USA at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships last September, and he plans to continue his development with aspirations of being a U.S. Olympian. If, for any reason, Michael changes his mind, I personally would understand. For 2016, he would clearly have a better shot at competing in more events for South Africa. Thankfully he’s on the U.S. track.
2016 U.S. Olympic Trials is a big topic of conversation for fans regarding the swimming phenom with 76 National Age Group records. He’ll barely be 17 years old when he competes in Omaha. How would you define success for Michael Andrew at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials? Is top-16 a success? Does he need to final or is making the U.S. Olympic Team the only metric? Michael’s 1:01.67 100m breast would’ve gotten 15th in the semi-finals at the 2012 US Olympic Trials.
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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.
My sense is that MA and parent(s), extrapolated MA’s stellar, record breaking age group career, and expected to make the Olympics.
Now that reality (or the fact that the aforementioned legends are still competitive) has set in, he’s looking for another path to get there.
I’m conflicted, as the intents of the Olympics, for me, are to represent *your* country. Not your parents. That said, there seem to be rules in place to allow ‘citizenship that’s convenient’ that exist.
It’ll be interesting to watch US, non-swimming sponsors respond.
One of the age old discussions/questions of high intensity is how long can it continually produce improvement.
No doubt amazing initial results are attained.
But intensity is perhaps the most powerful training ace in the hole that is being capitalized on very quickly here.
This will be an extraordinarily interesting scenario to watch the next 4-6yrs.
If his coaches are thoroughly studied up on anaerobic long term planning (hint:check out world class sprint runners).
But it’s a slippery slope with that style training preventing crash and burn!
Can be done tho!
Sorry this was cut:
“If his coaches are thoroughly studied” ….they can keep his performance improving not to the same degree as he is now….but definitely keep improving.
But it’s tough. He’ll never be able to go to conventional training again less he likes disaster…..
Sooo looking forward to seeing what this dynamo has in him for the future.
I don’t think it would be wise for Michael to try to swim 9 events at trials. I think he should swim a limited schedule and pick his best 4 or 5 events. At the same time he shouldn’t limit himself too much because you never know which event is going to be on at the time. Sometimes he is on in fly, other times, back or breast. Every time you put a label on him, it changes. Its going to be very hard to pick a schedule. I’ve been looking at the schedule of events for the trials for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what the best schedule should be and it is tough. I think that… Read more »
I am not sure if his attitude has changed but from one of his interviews when he was 13 (I think) it seemed like he and his family were really obsessed with him swimming in Rio. If he can’t make it happen representing the US I think it would be likely he would try to swim for SA.
They’ve said Team USA each time we’ve spoken with them…but I think everyone is wondering about SA. He would swim more events, would only have to have one big rest meet for the summer… Still, Michael’s grown up in the US, that’s powerful.
love the videos mel.
MA has a plan, its evident. I hope he hits his marks and I hope to see him crush it in the future. I’m peanut butter and jealous that he is 15 and has this mindset, focus, and big picture attitude already. at 15 I was thinking just about how to get more hot pockets and how to get my girlfriend the note I wrote her before school ended. took me till I was 22 to have that kind of a mindset.
…totally get it.
I think Phelps/Coughlin/Lochte/Hansen/Peirsol changed a generation of kids. Andrew’s just one of them.
It is my hope that Andrew finals in all of his events at US Trials. (I also hope all of these young stars do as well. We have so many, and we have so many icons still swimming…I’m wondering if 2016 marks a changing of the guard.)
I’d like to see a top-six 100 free to net a spot on the relay. For young US stars, that starts the medal run. So many multi-medal Olympic stars started there, Biondi, Berens, Adrian, Josh Davis. I would see just getting 6th in the 100m free as a huge success. Of course Andrew many… Read more »
Mel, Since Michael Andrew has already represented the US internationally, wouldn’t he have to move to S. Africa and live there for a year before he represents that country? I realize there is still enough time for him to do that before Rio, but he would have to make the decision to switch somewhat soon, wouldn’t he?
I’m assuming MA has dual citizenship. Wasn’t he born in the US? If he represents S. Africa in 2016, he could still move back to the US and try to make the US team in 2020, couldn’t he? In other words, he wouldn’t have to renounce his US citizenship to swim for them in 2016, would he? Basically, since I doubt MA can… Read more »
Yes, Now that he’s represented the US at the international level, FINA would require that he live in South Africa for a year to change his swimming nationality. And he’d have to back that up either rent or school attendance documents – he can’t just pop in for a visit now and then. And no, he wouldn’t have to renounce his US citizenship. (My son was in the same situation with respect to the US/ another nationality)
Who knows – maybe this visit is for him to dip his toes in the waters there to see if he’d like to stay for upwards of a year.