Catching His Breath in 16 Minutes, Michael Andrew’s Coach Applauds Never-Swam-Before Event’s Time at Swimming World Cup 2023

Michael Andrew ended Day 2 of the Athens meet of the Swimming World Cup 2023 on a high note. After clinching the silver in the 100-meter butterfly, he stood on the second rank on the leaderboard with 108.4 points. However, the versatile swimmer has more lethal weapons in his arsenal that he unveiled during the heats on the final day.

On October 15, Michael Andrew took part in the 100-meter backstroke heat and squared off against seven rivals. He swam the course in mesmerizing fashion and elicited high praise from his coach.

Michael Andrew earns coach’s praise with Swimming World Cup 2023 performance

Michael Andrew entered the 100-meter backstroke event in heat one. He took the lead at the very plunge into the pool and finished the race in 55.09 seconds. His closest rival was Abdalia Elghamry who reached the wall at 1:02:85. Seeing his run, Andrew’s coach and father Peter Andrew had some heavy words of encouragement. In an Instagram video, captioned “Morning swim 100 Back. Nice job”, the ISL team coach expressed his pride in Michael Andrew’s performance at the Swimming World Cup 2023.

The video of his race had text running across the screen that highlighted the incredible feat the 24-year-old swimmer had pulled off. The video also revealed the anxieties in the life of an elite swimmer and how he tackles them. The words on the video were a revelation of the mental and emotional strength that Michael Andrew possesses.

It stated, “HONESTLY IT’S SO LONG SINCE WE’VE SWAM 100 BACK. MICHAEL WASN’T SURE HOW HE SHOULD TAKE IT OUT. SO HE JUST SAID GO LONG AND SMOOTH AND HE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB”. He had just swam the 50-meter butterfly heats and took on the 100-meter backstroke challenge only about 16 minutes apart. He qualified for the finals with the sixth fastest time in the event. However, his best performance today came in the 50-meter butterfly that he raced prior.

Michael Andrew wins the 50-meter butterfly heats

Michael Andrew trounced all his rivals including Australia’s Isaac Cooper and Ben Armbruster to take the top position in the overall heats leaderboard. He swam the course at an electrifying speed and finished at 23:42 seconds. The judges were once again pleased with his performance and awarded him a high score of 859 Aqua Points. He will compete in the 50-meter butterfly finals tonight as the absolute favorite.

Read More: Will Michael Andrew Be Able to Break Caeleb Dressel’s 100M Butterfly Record at Swimming World Cup 2023?

As the gold medalist enters the 50-meter backstroke finals in the Athens meet, he is a powerhouse in the backstroke races. If he is able to earn another gold in the 100-meter backstroke in the Swimming World Cup 2023, he will exert his full dominance and solidify his position for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.

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