Michael Andrew, who became the youngest American swimmer ever to turn professional when he did so at age 14, made his first Olympic team with a win in the 100-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials Monday night.
Andrew, now 22, went 58.73 in the final after going significantly faster and breaking the American record in both his preliminary heat and in the semifinal (58.14). Andrew Wilson took second in 58.74, likely also securing his spot in Tokyo.
Andrew broke dozens of national age group records as a teenager while training under his father, Peter, at a backyard pool in Kansas before their family relocated to Southern California in 2018. While Andrew has been regarded as a pure sprint specialist for most of his career -- known for employing an unconventional training method called "Ultra-Short Race-Pace Training" and primarily swimming the 50-meter races -- he's recently emerged as a contender across all of the 100-meter races, as well as in the 200-meter individual medley.
In Omaha, Andrew is also entered in the 100s butterfly, backstroke and freestyle, as well as the 50 freestyle and 200 IM.
Peter is still his coach, and along with his mother Tina, Michael co-owns the New York Breakers, one of the teams in the upstart International Swimming League. The family, which is devoutly Christian, is vocal about their plans to revolutionize professional swimming through Michael's "God-given" gift.
"I'm blessed. I don't deserve this. It's God's grace and it's hard to put into words -- I'm just so grateful to be here," he told NBC's Michele Tafoya after the win. "It's a dream come true and that's the Olympic journey."
Michael made his international debut at the 2015 Junior World Championships. At Olympic Trials in 2016, he finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke, two places short of making the Olympic team. His next-highest finish was in the 50 freestyle, where he took 11th place.