Two teens break national marks set by Michael Phelps in same event; one is already a pro
In swimming circles, there will never be another Michael Phelps. Or so we were told.
Two separate swimmers broke Phelps' national records in their respective age groups last week at Speedo Junior Nationals in Irvine, Calif. (h/t Swim Swam via MaxPreps).
Andrew Seliskar, 16, won the 200-meter individual medley in 2:00.21, besting Phelps' 2001 national record time of 2:00.86 for the 15-16 age group by more than half a second. Seliskar's time would have qualified him for semifinals at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
A rising junior at Alexandria (Va.) Jefferson High, Seliskar is the nation's top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2015 as rated by CollegeSwimming.com. He also won the 200-meter butterfly at Speedo Junior Nationals in a meet record time of 1:56.54.
"I was really happy with the swim," Seliskar told reachforthewall.com after the butterfly. "I was surprised at how good I felt in prelims. I was shooting for the record after that."
With more records in his sights, Seliskar next competes August 26-31 in the FINA World Junior Championships in Dubai as a member of the U.S. Junior National Team.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Michael Andrew finished 12th in the 200 IM at Speedo Junior Nationals in 2:05.13, shattering Phelps' previous 13-14 age group record of 2:06.50.
In June, the Kansas native set his age group's 50-meter freestyle record in 23.47 seconds -- a time he beat by 0.09 seconds at Speedo Junior Nationals with an eighth-place finish.
Andrew became the youngest professional swimmer in U.S. history when he signed an endorsement deal with P2Life nutritional supplements and relinquished his right to compete at the high school level or collegiately, according to Swim Swam. While Phelps signed with Speedo as a 16-year-old, he had already qualified for his first Olympics.
"If there was a college coach that I believe was doing exactly what I'm doing, I think we'd have considered it a lot more," Andrew's father Peter told Sports Illustrated of his 6-foot-4 son. "I really researched the coaches. There's one that's a little similar but not really the same.
"I don't think Michael would transition well from our training style to an NCAA system. A massive mileage program would just kill him. So we couldn't have done the college route anyway, unless I became a coach, and no one is going to take me on."
Andrew's 200 IM time marked his 33rd age-group record. Whether he or Seliskar ever reach the Olympic heights of Phelps -- the most decorated swimmer in the sport's history -- remains to be seen, but last week was certainly a nice jump off the starting block.
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