Michael Charles Andrew (born April 18, 1999) is an American competitive swimmer and an Olympic gold medalist. He was the 2016 world champion in the 100 meter individual medley. At his first Olympic Games, the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal and set a world record as part of the 4x100 meter medley relay, placed fourth in the 100 meter breaststroke, fourth in the 50 meter freestyle, and fifth in the 200 meter individual medley. Andrew's swims in 2021 at the 2020 Olympics made him the first swimmer to represent the United States at an Olympic Games in an individual breaststroke event as well as another individual event other than an individual medley in the then-125-year-history of swimming at the Summer Olympics. He has won 89 medals at Swimming World Cup circuits.
In 2017, Andrew became the first person to achieve three world junior records in one session at a World Junior Swimming Championships. At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, he became the first male swimmer to final in all four strokes, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle, in the 50 meter events at a single World Aquatics Championships. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he won three medals in individual events, a silver medal in the 50 meter freestyle, a bronze medal in the 50 meter breaststroke, and a bronze medal in the 50 meter butterfly.
Andrew is the world junior record holder in the 50 meter freestyle and a former holder of world junior records in the 50 meter backstroke, 50 meter butterfly, 100 meter breaststroke, and 200 meter individual medley in long course meters. He is also a world record and Olympic record holder in the long course 4x100 meter medley relay, in which he swam breaststroke, along with Ryan Murphy (backstroke), Caeleb Dressel (butterfly), and Zach Apple (freestyle). Over the course of his career, Andrew has also achieved multiple continental and national records in the 50 meter breaststroke and 100 meter breaststroke events.
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.Zeigler, Mark (July 24, 2021). "Encinitas Olympic swimmer Michael Andrew goes against the flow". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 15, 2021. 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.Menard, Drew (August 15, 2013). "Youngest U.S. pro swimmer enrolls in Liberty Online Academy". Liberty University. Retrieved July 21, 2021.Allen, Ted (May 31, 2016). "Olympic hopeful balances time spent in pool and school". Liberty University. Retrieved July 21, 2021. 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.Anderson, Jared (March 21, 2018). "Michael Andrew Swims to #2 17-18 100 Breast All-Time with 51.18". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
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.Hy-Tek (August 31, 2014). "2014 Jr Pan Pacific Swimming Championships: Results". swmeets.com. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
2015: International debut 2015 World Junior Championships
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."5th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships 2015: Complete Results Book". Omega Timing. August 30, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2021. 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 2016 US Olympic Trials Andrew competed in his first Olympic Trials at the 2016 USA Swimming Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska when he was 17 years old.Shively, Lindsay (June 24, 2016). "Kansas City area swimmers head to 2016 Olympic trials in Nebraska". KSHB-TV. Retrieved June 12, 2021. He swam in five individual events: 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter breaststroke, 100 meter butterfly, and 200 meter individual medley.Keith, Braden (June 15, 2016). "Michael Andrew Will Swim 5 Races at the 2016 Olympic Trials". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 12, 2021.Echlin, Greg (August 3, 2016). "Lawrence Swimmer Focuses On 2020 Olympics After Not Qualifying This Year". KCUR-FM. Retrieved June 12, 2021. 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."U.S. Olympic Trials - Swimming: Complete Results Book". Omega Timing. July 3, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2021. 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."2016 Trials: Michael Andrew breaks breaststroke junior WR". NBC Olympics. Retrieved September 17, 2021.Pruden, Cathleen (June 26, 2016). "Michael Andrew Breaks 1 Minute for 100 Breast NAG and World Junior Records". Swimming World. Retrieved September 17, 2021.Keith, Braden (June 26, 2016). "Michael Andrew Becomes Youngest Sub-Minute American Breaststroker Ever". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 17, 2021. 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.Rieder, David (August 26, 2017). "With Junior Career Winding Down, Michael Andrew Looks Towards Future". Swimming World. Retrieved September 17, 2021. 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.Hecht, Hannah (July 1, 2016). "Michael Andrew Ties the Junior World Record in the 200 IM". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
2016 World Short Course Championships
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.USA Swimming (December 9, 2016). "17-Year-Old Swimmer Michael Andrew Wins First World Title". TeamUSA.org. Retrieved September 17, 2021. He finished 17 hundredths of a second ahead of 2016 Olympic medalist Daiya Seto of Japan who finished second."Andrew, Puts spring surprises at short-course event". Taipei Times. December 11, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2021. 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."13th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Complete Results Book". Omega Timing. December 11, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2021. 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.Gibbs, Robert (March 4, 2017). "Michael Andrew Sets New 200 IM World Junior Record with a 1:59.12". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 14, 2021."2017 Arena Pro Swim Series - Indianapolis, IN: Men's 200m Individual Medley Final Results". Omega Timing. March 4, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
2017 World Junior Championships