US National champion Michael Andrew appeared on Inside With Brett Hawke about his 2021 plans and the current status of his Olympic goals. Andrew talked about his surfing tactics, something he took on when he moved out west to Encinitas, California, and how he views it as a good “out of the pool” activity. He talked about the positives that came out of 2020 (7:50) and what he learned during the US lockdown and how he came out of it as a better swimmer and person.
Andrew opened up about contracting coronavirus (10:30) in the last few months and how he was able to come out of it healthy.
Michael Andrew is a very polarizing figure in the sport of swimming, having gone professional at age 14 and has been open about his ultra-sprint race pace training techniques that have helped him become one of the top sprinters in the world. Andrew weighed in on his “haters” (14:00) who have doubted his unique approach to the sport of swimming. He talked about whether going pro was the right decision (18:00) and where he would have gone to school had he been eligible. He reflected on the first few years of his professional career where he struggled with identity in the pool (20:00) and the pressure he was facing from comment warriors.
Andrew talked about reading negative comments as a teenager and how it affected him (24:30) and his family, and admitted he doesn’t read swimming articles unless they are positive. He reflected on a particular commenter that said he could never break a 400 IM record with his training and how he took that to motivate him and then broke the NAG record in the 400 IM later on.
Michael Andrew also broke down what USRPT is and what makes it so difficult despite many people thinking it is a walk in the park (29:00) as well as a typical week with 12 sessions per week (34:00). He talked about what events he trains for and what he hopes to be racing at the Olympic Games (43:00). Andrew went over his first inspiration in swimming (45:50) as a young up-and-coming swimmer, as well as the first Olympics he remembered watching.
Michael Andrew is the team captain of the New York Breakers of the International Swimming League, who placed in the semi-finals of the ISL season in 2020.