IRVINE Michael Andrew emerged from the pool Saturday night, briefly put his hands together in prayer and pointed up toward the dark, blue sky.
Considered the youngest professional swimmer in U.S. history, Andrew dedicates his races to his Christian faith but he also had another reason to be thankful this time at the Speedo Junior National Championships.
Andrew, a 15-year-old from Lawrence, Kansas, captured his first junior title by touching first in the 100-meter backstroke in a lifetime-best 55.73 seconds at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.
He also gained momentum for next week’s senior nationals in Irvine. After shredding the national age-group record book in the 13-14 division, the 6-foot-5, 195-pounder has been relatively quiet but still highly-watched as a 15-year-old.
Andrew hopes to qualify next week for the U.S. team for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships later this month in Hawaii.
“We’ve definitely changed our focus from national records to titles,” he said. “It’s a work in progress. Up (until) this meet, the season has been really quite bad. I haven’t had any time drops. … So coming here and being able to go fast is really exciting.”
Andrew led at the 50 (27.27) and held off a challenge from fellow 15-year-old and top-seeded, Michael Taylor of Georgia’s Dynamo, who clocked a 56.07.
Andrew became a professional at age 14 and has two endorsement deals, including one with Mutual of Omaha. He also has generated attention for his “ultra short” race-pace training methods under his father and coach, Peter.
Townley Haas, a 17-year-old with Nova of Virginia, claimed his third title this week by touching first in the 200 free in 1:48.75. Stanzi Moseley of Bakersfield’s Roadrunner club took the women’s 200 free in a swift 1:59.88. Amy Bilquist of Indiana’s Carmel Swim outdueled teammate and fellow 16-year-old, Claire Adams, to win the women’s 100 back in 1:01.04. Crean Lutheran’s Emily Eastin of SOCAL finished eighth in 1:03.17.
