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Rio 2016 may have ended, but for 2020 Olympic hopefuls, the training is only beginning

As the Rio Olympics warp up, one area swimmer is already gearing up for the 2020 Olympics.
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Instead of a cape, he dons a cap. Instead of a mask, he wears goggles.

"Superman - he can fly and shoot laser beams and stuff, but when I swim, I feel like Aquaman flying through the water," said Michael Andrew, 17, a Lawrence, Kansas, swimmer.

 

 

Michael Andrew knows he's no superhero, but the way he feels lapping his backyard pool sure makes him feel that way.

"A lot of people compare me to Michael Phelps - that'd be incredible to be the greatest of all time and to be called the next Michael Phelps, but I also want to be the first Michael Andrew," he said. "I want to be able to create my own legacy."

 

 

And he's doing that by training for a race that won't even start until 2020. By his side at the pool, and on his Tokyo Olympic dream journey, is his father and coach, Peter Andrew.

"It kind of is my gold medal moment every day when I come down to train my son," said Peter Andrew. "The training is just a small component, but the mental side is massive. What you think is what you are."

 

 

A mantra Michael Andrew hopes takes him from his backyard pool to the one in Tokyo.

In between now and the 2020 Olympics are many swim meets on both the national and international stage. Michael Andrew and his family head to Europe Tuesday for the World Cup of Swimming (not soccer). They'll spend the next several weeks in France, Germany and Russia -- then head back to the U.S.
 
 
 
But the family won't stay in Kansas for long. They plan on moving soon to a location they can't yet disclose so Michael Andrew can get the training he needs to help him make his Olympic dream come true.
 
"We do not know what the future hold but we are excited," said Michael's mother Tina. "We are praying for direction and are willing to go where ever God leads. Our main goal now after trials and leading into Tokyo is to get Michael in a team setting and to focus on both the kids' education when they graduate together in May. We explored options to start and grow a team here but we could not secure pool time. Joining local teams is not an option because we do not train the way they do and we also believe with our USRPT based training method, the next phase now is for us to implement this in a team setting as we believe the concept has been proven and that USRPT will revolutionize the sport." 
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.

You can also follow her on Twitter.

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