Michael Andrew goes pro at 14

Jessica Hardy has some words on this situation via Twitter: twitter.com/.../344074103508049920 "Is this a joke? (Ps there is no such thing as "certified to be safe" according to WADA/USADA)" exactly what i was talking about.

and not only caught, but prevented from being on an olympic team! Jessica Hardy has some words on this situation via Twitter: twitter.com/.../344074103508049920 "Is this a joke? (Ps there is no such thing as "certified to be safe" according to WADA/USADA)" I try not to judge other people's parenting and I genuinely wish the kid the best, but the whole thing gives me the heebie jeebies.

Here are some earlier articles about Michael Andrew: Life as a phenom swimmer in rural Lawrence April 21, 2013 by Chad Lawhorn The Lawrence Journal-World www2.ljworld.com/.../ 13-year-old swimmer already drawing comparisons to Michael Phelps April 20, 2012 the Associated Press sportsillustrated.cnn.com/.../

So who is more impressive as an age grouper: Michael Andrew or Chas Morton? I believe Chas Morton still holds NAG records from the early 80s. Even his backstroke swims (with the old turn) are still way up there in the Top 100. I VOTE Chas Morton. want to know why? because he broke MY record in 11-12 100m fly that was a 1.03.81 and lasted for 2 years. the record i broke was P. Oswangy and was set 3 months before i was born. in the last 47 years only 3 have held that record. but i dont know if that is impressive as jessie vassallo's 1500m record from '76 still being there. but i'm also pretty darn proud to say i was the head timer for this WR swim: GUTHRIE David USA 02:32.55 11-08-2012

the big problem is that for as good as he is an an age group swimmer, he is not on the big scene yet. and by that i mean he hasn't been to USNats. it is a bit different to be NAGR and such than it is to walk into the ready room of the finals of your event and look around the room and go...."hmmm that's the current world record holder right there and next to him is the former world record holder. and both are my idols. and i am racing against them in about 10min in the finals." the kid says he likes pressure, he hasnt had any pressure. he may now that mom and dad are riding his coattails. its very clear the kid won the genetic lotto. 6'4" at turning 14. holy growth spurts batman! sure he will improve, but its not so easy to make that top 16 and more so the top 8 at USNats. all of the men this boy will be racing against are just as big if not bigger, have more muscle, and some have as many years of experience at that level as he is years old. 3 old men from my city just swam at a tuneup meet this last weekend in the events he's in. the 49.55 by RickyB and 50.25 by DaxH and even the 50.69 by GarrettWG. right there is 3 of the 7 that can make a team. the kid (as good as he is and i wish him the best) has a ways to go!

So who is more impressive as an age grouper: Michael Andrew or Chas Morton? I believe Chas Morton still holds NAG records from the early 80s. Even his backstroke swims (with the old turn) are still way up there in the Top 100.

I really doubt that he is getting more than $10K from the supplement company. But you are right he should be fine financially because, when he becomes an adult, he can sue his parents for doing this to him. This whole story stinks.

Ugh! I agree with Elaine. This will cause me to root against him. LOL.

He's the youngest US swimmer to go pro. Phelps was 15 when he went pro, but at that point he was already an Olympian. swimswam.com/.../ swimswam.com/.../ Michael is remarkable, 23.47 50 LCM fr at just turned 14 is incredible. He keeps improving and shows no signs of that stopping. I'm concerned with him going pro at 14. Unless the terms of his P2Life contract are incredible, why not just wait? Wait until he has even more ability and to the point that he is an obvious serious olympic contender. Wait until until his potential endorsement earnings would be much greater than a 4 year full ride to Stanford Cal or UT I'm curious to see how much faster, bigger and stronger he gets, If you look his times up on the USA Swimming Swims Data base www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx you can see his 50's are awesome, he's better short course than long course. His 50's are better than his 100's his 200's are worse than his 100's He does race pace speed based training. Doesn't seem like he's built a base. Hopefully going pro will prove to be a wise choice. Times will tell.

I VOTE Chas Morton. want to know why? because he broke MY record in 11-12 100m fly that was a 1.03.81 and lasted for 2 years. the record i broke was P. Oswangy and was set 3 months before i was born. in the last 47 years only 3 have held that record. but i dont know if that is impressive as jessie vassallo's 1500m record from '76 still being there. but i'm also pretty darn proud to say i was the head timer for this WR swim: GUTHRIE David USA 02:32.55 11-08-2012 Chas' 100m FL 58.74 from 1983 was is and is remarkable here's links to Age Group NRs www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx All time Top 100 www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx some age grouper break records in one or 2 ages, some break records their whole way up like Ryan Murphy. Note: Kim Kardashian's ex Kris Humphries still holds the 10 & under 50 free LCM 27.71 - Kris Humphries, 1995