Michael Andrew

Teen life

Andrew's parents, Peter and Tina, are South African citizens who moved to the United States in 1997. His father served in the South African Navy as a diver. His mother appeared in the British and South African versions of Gladiators, as Laser and Sheena respectively, and his younger sister used to swim.

His family lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota, from 1997 to 2011, where Andrew started swimming at age 7 and competed for the Aberdeen Swim Club. Soon after, Andrew's father decided he wanted to coach Andrew himself so his parents bought and converted a nightclub in Aberdeen into a four-lane pool so Andrew could train with Peter as coach, then purchased the building next door and made it into their home. The family moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 2011. As the house in Lawrence did not come with a pool, they built a shed and a two-lane training pool in the backyard where Andrew was coached by his father. In 2013, Andrew turned professional at the age of 14 and became the youngest American swimmer to do so. As a junior swimmer he broke more than 100 National Age Group records (long course meters and short course yards combined), more than any other American swimmer. Part of Andrew's coaching by his father during his youth included training in a non-traditional way, using a method called Ultra Short Race Pace Training (USRPT), he has continued to train with this approach into adulthood.

Andrew was home-schooled as part of an online program through Liberty University for part of his teenage years after he turned pro in swimming. Taking a home-schooling pathway for education, he chose not to compete in high school nor collegiate swimming. When the University opened a pool in 2018, Andrew participated in the first event held at the pool, the 2018 TYR Junior National Cup, to be part of its grand opening.

2014–2017: International career beginnings

2014 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

At the 2014 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, in August in Maui, Hawaii, Andrew won the silver medal in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 55.81 seconds, placed ninth in the 100 meter butterfly and the 50 meter freestyle, 20th in the 200 meter individual medley, 22nd in the 100 meter freestyle and the 100 meter breaststroke, and swam exhibition in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay and the 4×100 meter medley relay.

2015: International debut

In August 2015, Andrew made his international debut when he was 16 years old at the 2015 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Singapore. He competed in ten events, eight individual and two relays, reached the semifinals or final in all ten events, competed in the final in nine events, and won medals in five events. He won the gold medal in the 50 meter backstroke, breaking the Championships record in both the heats and the final. He also won the silver medal in the 50 meter freestyle and the 50 meter butterfly, placed 4th in the 100 meter backstroke, 4th in the 100 meter breaststroke, 7th in the 200 meter individual medley, 8th in the 50 meter breaststroke, and 9th in the 100 meter butterfly. For his two relay events, Andrew won a silver medal as part of the men's 4×100 meter medley relay where he swam backstroke in the prelims and butterfly in the final and a bronze medal on the mixed 4×100 meter medley relay where he swam the breaststroke leg of the relay in the final. FINA named him male swimmer of the meet.

2016: First world title

Andrew competed in his first Olympic Trials at the 2016 USA Swimming Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska when he was 17 years old. He swam in five individual events: 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter breaststroke, 100 meter butterfly, and 200 meter individual medley. While he did not make the USA Olympic Team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Andrew was closest to making the team in the 100 meter breaststroke where he finished in fourth place. With his swim of 59.96 seconds in the prelims heats of the 100 meter breaststroke, Andrew became the youngest American to swim the event in less than one minute, set a National Age Group record in the event, and broke the world junior record of 1:00.12 in the event set by Anton Chupkov of Russia. Andrew lowered his National Age Group and world junior records in the final of the 100 meter breaststroke by swimming the race in 59.82 seconds. His time of 1:59.44 in the 200 meter individual medley semifinals tied the world junior record in the event set in 2013 by Gunnar Bentz.

At the 2016 World Swimming Championships held in Windsor, Canada in December 2016 and conducted in short course meters, Andrew won the gold medal and his first individual world title at a world championships meet open to all ages in the 100 meter individual medley with a time of 51.84. He finished 17 hundredths of a second ahead of 2016 Olympic medalist Daiya Seto of Japan who finished second. In the 50 meter breaststroke he finished ninth in the semifinals and did not advance to the final. Likewise, Andrew placed 23rd in the 200 meter individual medley prelims with a time of 1:57.87 and split a 21.44 on the mixed 4×50 meter freestyle relay that placed 11th in the prelims, he did not advance to the next stage of competition in either event. He also contributed to the heats in the 4×50 meter freestyle relay and the 4×50 meter medley relay, winning silver medals in both. He swam a 21.51 for his 50 meters in the 4×50 meter freestyle relay and a 26.62 for his 50 meters of breaststroke in the 4×50 meter medley relay.

2017: Breaking long course world junior records

On March 4, 2017, Andrew broke the world junior record in the 200 meter individual medley at the 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis with his time of 1:59.12 in the final.

At the 2017 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Indianapolis in August 2017, Andrew won three gold medals and two bronze medals. In the prelims of the 50 meter freestyle, Andrew broke the world junior record of 22.00, set in the event by Yu Hexin in 2014, with his time of 21.75. In the final of the 50 meter freestyle, Andrew swam a 21.75 again, tied his world junior record, and won the gold medal in the event. For the 50 meter backstroke, Andrew broke the world junior record set by Kliment Kolesnikov at 24.94 in 2016 with a time of 24.63 in the prelims. Andrew tied his world junior record of 24.63 in the final of the 50 meter backstroke and won the gold medal. In the 50 meter butterfly semifinals, Andrew swam a 23.27 and broke the world junior record of 23.39 set by Li Zhuhao in 2015. In the final, Andrew lowered the world junior record he set in the semifinal to a 23.22 and won the gold medal. In the final of the 50 meter breaststroke he swam a 27.39 and won the bronze medal, and in the 100 meter breaststroke final he won the bronze medal with a time of 1:00.37.

Andrew's swims in the evening of August 26, 2017, setting world junior records in the 50 meter backstroke, 50 meter butterfly, and 50 meter freestyle, made him the first swimmer in the world to achieve three world junior records in one session at a FINA World Junior Swimming Championships meet. The time span for Andrew achieving these three records was less than one hour. In addition to the five events he medalled in, Andrew placed 8th in the 200 meter individual medley and 4th in the 4×100 freestyle relay for his prelims relay contributions.

At the Beijing stop of the 2017 Swimming World Cup in November 2017, Andrew set a world junior record in the short course 100 meter individual medley with his time of 51.86 seconds and finished second overall. The following week at the World Cup stop in Singapore, Andrew lowered the world junior record to 51.65 seconds. Andrew shared video footage of the race on his YouTube channel later the same month. Also in Singapore, Andrew helped set a new world junior record in the mixed 4x50 meter medley relay, splitting a 26.02 for the breaststroke leg of the relay in the final.

2018–2021: Transitioning to senior competition

2018: National to international ascent

Andrew won multiple individual events at the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, California in July 2018. He won the final of the 50 meter butterfly in a time of 22.93, which broke the Championship record of 23.05 set by Caeleb Dressel in 2017. For the 50 meter breaststroke, Andrew tied the US Open record of 26.86 set by Adam Peaty in 2017 and set a new Championship record in the prelims. In the final of the 50 meter breaststroke, Andrew won the event with a time of 26.84 and set a new US Open record. In the 100 meter breaststroke, Andrew won in a time of 59.38 seconds. Andrew won the final of the 50 meter freestyle with a 21.49, which was less than four tenths of a second ahead of second place finisher Caeleb Dressel and third place finisher Nathan Adrian. He also finished in third place in the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 51.68, placed fourth in the 50 meter backstroke in a time of 24.62, and swam a 49.87 and placed 26th in the 100 meter freestyle.

NBC Sports named Andrew male swimmer of the meet. He also received press coverage from ESPN who highlighted Andrew's winning four national titles spanning breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle events. His wins qualified him for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and the 2019 World Championships, which was his first time qualifying for a senior long course team at an international swimming competition.

At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships held in Tokyo, Japan in August, Andrew won two medals. He swam a time of 21.46 seconds in the 50 meter freestyle, finished over four tenths of a second before the next fastest swimmer, Caeleb Dressel also of the United States, and won the gold medal. As part of the mixed 4x100 meter medley relay with Kathleen Baker (backstroke), Caeleb Dressel (butterfly), and Simone Manuel (freestyle), Andrew won a bronze medal. Andrew attributed his gold medal in the 50 meter freestyle to his training method, USRPT. In addition to the events he medaled in, Andrew placed seventh in the final, also called the A final, of the 100 meter breaststroke in a time of 1:00.04, placed first place in the B-final, which was 9th overall, in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 53.55, and also won the B-final of the 100 meter butterfly with his time of 51.53 seconds.

For his performances at the 2018 National Championships and Pan Pacific Championships, Andrew was nominated for the USA Swimming Golden Goggle Award for "Breakout Performer of the Year", and for his execution in the 50 meter freestyle race at the Pan Pacific Championships he was nominated for the "Male Race of the Year" Golden Goggle Award. He won the award "Breakout Performer of the Year", winning one of the two awards he was nominated for.

2019: Finalling in 50 meter sprints

Andrew became the first man to make it to the finals in the 50 meter events for all four strokes at a World Championships meet in July 2019 at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea. In the finals he placed 4th in the 50 meter butterfly, 5th in the 50 meter backstroke, 6th in the 50 meter freestyle, and 7th in the 50 meter breaststroke. He earned one medal at the meet, a silver medal in the 4x100 meter medley relay where he swam a 59.75 for the breaststroke leg of the relay in the prelims heats. In his individual event at the 100 meter distance, Andrew ranked 19th with a time of 1:00:04 in the 100 meter breaststroke.

In fall 2019, Andrew was a member of the inaugural season of the International Swimming League, swimming for the New York Breakers who competed in the Americas Division. In addition to being a swimmer for the team, Andrew shared the role of co-owner of the New York Breakers with his parents. At the American Final, in College Park, Maryland, he won the 50 meter backstroke, tying with LA Current swimmer Matt Grevers. For the 2019 season, Andrew's performances earned him the Most Valuable Player designation for the New York Breakers.

2020: Pandemic disrupts competition

Rebounding from his 19th place finish at the 2019 World Championships, Andrew swam a personal best time of 59.14 seconds in the 100 meter breaststroke to win the final at the 2020 TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Des Moines, Iowa in March 2020. At the same meet he also improved his best times in the 200 meter individual medley and 100 meter butterfly. Later in the month, when the 2020 Olympic Games were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew continued training after a six to seven week break from swimming in a pool. One of the ways Andrew adapted to the hiatus in international swimming competition was by experimenting and posting videos of his daily life as a professional swimmer on his YouTube channel.

Andrew served as a team captain for the New York Breakers in the 2020 International Swimming League.

2021: Olympic Games debut

At the 2021 TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis, Andrew swam and won three individual events. On Thursday May 13, 2021, Andrew competed in the 100 meter breaststroke, swimming a personal best in the finals with a time of 58.67 and setting a new U.S. Open record and a new Pro Swim Series record for the event. His swim was the second fastest time in the 100 meter breaststroke long course event in the history of the US. The next day, Friday May 14, 2021, Andrew set another Pro Swim Series record this time in the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 50.80. Saturday May 15, 2021, he won the 200 individual medley swimming a 1:56.84. His swims drew the attention of SwimSwam who chose Andrew as their “Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month” for the month of May 2021 because of his achievements in his breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley races and his potential for making the US Olympic Team for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Heading into the 2020 USA Swimming Olympic Trials, Andrew qualified to compete in seven individual events including the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter backstroke, 100 meter breaststroke, 200 meter breaststroke, 100 meter butterfly, and 200 meter individual medley. He qualified for the 200 meter breaststroke in April 2021 at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Mission Viejo where he swam a 2:11.32 in the final of his debut racing the event, which was over three seconds faster than the Wave II trials qualification time.

As part of press coverage leading up to the 2020 Olympic Trials (held in June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), SwimSwam named Andrew as their top pick in the men's 100 meter breaststroke. Attempting to predict the results, Sports Illustrated selected Andrew as finishing first in the 100 meter breaststroke, second in the 100 meter butterfly, and second in the 200 meter individual medley. Sports Illustrated also listed Andrew as one of two potential breakthrough performers to follow at the meet along with Regan Smith. Andrew also garnered attention from ABC Sport regarding his stance on FINA and potential bans on swimmers participating in the International Swimming League in relation to discussions of prize money for swimmers at the Olympic Games.

Andrew entered to swim six events at the Olympic Trials, the seven events he qualified to swim minus the 200 meter breaststroke. In the Omega Timing records book published on June 13, 2021, and containing a list of current American Records, Championship Records, US Open Records, and World Records, Andrew was the only male to have set one of these records (the US Open record in the 100 meter breaststroke) in 2021.

2022: Stabilizing senior competition

In February 2022, Andrew raced the 100 meter freestyle, 50 meter breaststroke, and 100 meter butterfly on the second day of competition of the 4th Copa Heller Cup in Querétaro, Mexico, notably winning the 50 meter breaststroke over Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands with a time of 27.19 seconds. In early March, Andrew swam a 59.05 at the 2022 Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, Illinois to win the 100 meter breaststroke, finishing just 0.19 seconds off a Pro Swim Series record of 58.86 seconds set by Adam Peaty in 2017, though Andrew had already broken the record twice in May 2021, first with a 58.82 and then again with a 58.67. The next day he won the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 51.74, finishing 0.03 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Shaine Casas. He won the 50 meter freestyle with a 21.73 on the fourth and final day of competition.

2022 International Team Trials

At the 2022 US International Team Trials in Greensboro, North Carolina, Andrew ranked first in the prelims heats of the 50 meter butterfly on day two with a time of 23.09 seconds and qualified for the evening final. He placed second in the final, finishing in a time of 22.87 seconds, just 0.03 seconds behind the first-place finisher. On the third day, he placed second in the 100 meter butterfly with a 50.88 and won the 50 meter breaststroke with a new American record and US Open record time of 26.52 seconds. Later in the same session, he placed fifth in the 50 meter backstroke with a time of 24.80 seconds. The following day, he placed second in the 100 meter breaststroke with a time of 58.51 seconds. He placed second in the final of the 50 meter freestyle on the fifth and final day with a personal best time of 21.45 seconds. In total, he was named to the 2022 World Aquatics Championships team roster by USA Swimming in four individual events, the 50 meter and 100 meter breaststroke, the 100 meter butterfly, and the 50 meter freestyle. Three days later, USA Swimming officially added him to the roster in a fifth individual event, the 50 meter butterfly.

2022 World Long Course Championships

The first day of swimming competition at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in June, Andrew placed ninth in the semifinals of the 100 meter breaststroke with a time of 59.63 seconds. Day two, he won a bronze medal in the 50 meter butterfly with a personal best time of 22.79 seconds, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind silver medalist Nicholas Santos of Brazil and marking his first medal in an individual event at a FINA World Aquatics Championships. Two days later, he swam a 26.72 in the final of the 50 meter breaststroke to win the bronze medal and occupy one of the three podium spots, with Nic Fink of the United States taking the gold medal and Nicolò Martinenghi of Italy taking the silver medal. Later in the same session, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter mixed medley relay when the finals relay finished first in 3:38.79, in the prelims heats earlier in the day he contributed a split of 50.69 for the butterfly leg of the relay to help qualify it for the final ranking first.

Three days later, on day seven, Andrew won his first and only medal of the finals session in the 50 meter freestyle, finishing 0.09 seconds behind gold medalist Ben Proud of Great Britain and 0.16 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Maxime Grousset of France with a personal best time of 21.41 seconds to win the silver medal. He followed his silver medal up with a fourth-place finish in the final of the 100 meter butterfly less than 40 minutes later with a time of 51.11 seconds. He concluded competition on the eighth and final day, splitting a 50.06 for the butterfly leg of the 4×100 meter medley relay in the final to help achieve a time of 3:27.79 and win the silver medal behind only the Italy relay team. In July, following his performances, Andrew was named as a member of the roster for the 2022 Duel in the Pool.

2022 World Short Course Championships

For the 2022 World Short Course Championships, in Melbourne, Australia, Andrew was named to the roster in five individual events, the 50 meter freestyle, 50 meter breaststroke, 100 meter breaststroke, 50 meter butterfly, and 100 meter butterfly. In the 4×50 meter mixed medley relay, he won a gold medal for his efforts in the preliminaries, splitting a 25.56 for the breaststroke leg to help qualify the relay for the final ranking first, when the finals relay placed first with a 1:35.15. He won his second of two medals in the 4×50 meter medley relay, anchoring the relay to a finish in an Americas and American record time of 1:30.37 with a time of 20.39 seconds. In the 4×50 meter mixed freestyle relay, he helped achieve a fourth-place finish in 1:29.18 in the final, swimming the first leg of the relay in 20.81 seconds.

In the 50 meter breaststroke, Andrew achieved a personal best time of 25.81 seconds in the semifinals before going on to place fifth in the final with a time of 25.92 seconds. He placed fifth in the final of the 100 meter individual medley as well, finishing 0.50 seconds behind gold medalist Thomas Ceccon of Italy with a time of 51.47 seconds. In the 50 meter freestyle he ranked eighth in the prelims heats with a 21.02 before withdrawing from further competition in the event, in the 50 meter butterfly he place 14th with a 22.47, in the 100 meter breaststroke he placed 25th with a 58.22, and in the 100 meter butterfly he placed 30th with a time of 51.93 seconds.

2023-2026: Later career

In 2023, Andrew competed at the Phillips 66 USA National Championship, and won gold in the 50 Fly, but was excluded from the roster of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships because of the priorities of USA Swimming.

At the 2024 Olympic trials, Andrew failed to qualify for the team, finishing 8th in the 100 breaststroke, an event where he holds the American record, and finishing 5th in the 50 freestyle.

Following this disappointing showing at the Olympic trials, Andrew decided to reevaluate his training, and eventually moved to Tempe, Arizona, to train with Arizona State University.

Then, in December, he competed at the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25 m), where he earned a silver medal in the 4x100m medley relay.

At the 2025 USA Swimming Championships, Andrew earned his spot for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships by finishing 2nd in the 50 m breaststroke and 50 m butterfly.

At the 2026 USA Swimming Championships, Andrew finished 2nd in the 50 m breaststroke and 3rd in the 50 m butterfly.

International championships (50 m)

a Andrew swam only in the prelims heats.

b Andrew swam only in exhibition.

International championships (25 m)

a Andrew swam only in the prelims heats.

Personal best times

Long course meters (50 m pool)

As of July 7, 2022

Short course meters (25 m pool)

Legend: sf = semifinal

Swimming World Cup circuits

The following medals Andrew has won at Swimming World Cup circuits.

World records

World junior records

Legend: h – heats; sf – semifinal; = – tied pre-existing record

World records

a with Ryan Murphy (backstroke), Caeleb Dressel (butterfly), Zach Apple (freestyle)

a with Olivia Smoliga (backstroke), Kelsi Dahlia (butterfly), Caeleb Dressel (freestyle)

Continental and national records

Physique

Ultra Short Race Pace Training

Michael Andrew has adopted a unique training style called Ultra Short Race Pace Training(USRPT). In an interview with NBC Olympics Andrew spoke about his training:

We train as specific as possible. Our sessions are shorter but intentional every time, using USRPT (ultra-short race pace training). I use blood flow restriction to train and recover. We use power plates to train fast twitch fibers.

USRPT, short for Ultra-Short Race-Pace Training, is an evidence-based training program/stroke curriculum developed by Dr. Bent S. Rushall for the sport of swimming that Andrew started using as his training method when he was 10 years old.

In the Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, Nugent et al., 2019 reviewed the science behind the USRPT methodology finding most of the science to be anecdotal in nature, highlighting the training records of Andrew as one form of more concrete scientific evidence, and emphasizing the importance of statistical evidence in proving the effectiveness of the USRPT methodology.

Diet

Andrew follows a ketogenic diet as part of his training.

Highlights

2009: Commenced training with Ultra Short Race Pace Training, 10 years old

2013: Became a professional swimmer at 14 years of age

2015: First junior world title: 50 meter backstroke, 16 years old

2016: First world title (long course or short course): 100 meter individual medley (short course), 17 years old

2016—2017: Multiple-time world junior record holder in events spanning breaststroke, individual medley, backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly, 17–18 years old

2017: First swimmer to achieve three world junior records in a time span of less than one hour (in one finals session) at a FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, 18 years old

2018: Four national titles in breaststroke, freestyle, and butterfly events, 19 years old

2018: First long course international title: 50 meter freestyle at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, 19 years old

2018: First world record (short or long course): mixed 4x50 meter medley relay (breaststroke leg), 19 years old

2019: First male swimmer to final in backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle events at the 50 meter distance at a single FINA World Championships, 20 years old

2021: Multiple time national record holder in the long course 100 meter breaststroke, 22 years old

2021: Competed in four individual and relay events at his first Olympic Games: 1st in the 4x100 meter medley relay, 4th in the 100 meter breaststroke, 4th in the 50 meter freestyle, 5th in the 200 meter individual medley, 22 years old

Awards and honors

Golden Goggle Award, Relay Performance of the Year: 2021 (4x100 meter medley relay)

Golden Goggle Award, Breakout Performer of the Year: 2018

Swimming World, The Week That Was: November 1, 2021 (#2)

SwimSwam, Top 100 (Men's): 2021 (#77), 2022 (#17)

SwimSwam, Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month: July 2018, September 2018, May 2021

SwimSwam, Swammy Award, Age Group Swimmer of the Year 13–14 (male): 2013, 2014

Golden Goggle Award nominee, Male Race of the Year: 2018 (50 meter freestyle)

Personal life

Andrew has a girlfriend named Destiny, they started dating on February 1, 2020.

Andrew is a Christian. He has said, "Faith is everything. I know that God gives life and without God and what he has done for my family and I, there would be no point in swimming or being here."

Controversy

In the weeks leading up to the 2020 Summer Olympics, Andrew made headlines for defending his decision to go to Tokyo without being vaccinated against COVID-19, which he had tested positive for a few months prior. His decision drew attention from national newspaper USA Today who stated Andrew was the biggest name to come out openly about not getting a COVID-19 vaccine in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympics. Athletes were not required to get a COVID-19 vaccine to compete at the 2020 Olympics and estimates put 80 to 90% of athletes on the U.S. team as having received the vaccine, which made Andrew part of the minority that did not get vaccinated. Speaking to Reuters via a media conference call, Andrew clarified, "My reason behind it is -- for one, it was in the last moment I didn't want to put anything in my body that I didn't know how I would potentially react to. As an athlete on the elite level, everything we do is very calculated. For me in the training cycles and especially at trials, I didn't want to risk any days out, because there are periods where if you take a vaccine, you have to deal with some days off."