_Swimmer Michael Chadwick is an All-American and rising junior at Missouri. As a sophomore at the NCAA Championships, he finished fifth in the 100-yard freestyle, sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay and ninth in the 50-yard freestyle. He sat down with The Maneater to discuss his training and goals for next season._

**The Maneater:** What have you been doing this summer for training?
**Michael Chadwick:** I’m home in Charlotte, North Carolina, right now training with a pre-Olympic program called SwimMAC Carolina, which is the team I grew up training with. It’s a really big program where we have about 25 swimmers who are all trying to make the (Olympic) team next summer, including names like Ryan Lochte and Cullen Jones and Tyler Clary.

**ME:** Is your goal to make the Olympics next summer?
**MC:** That would be the best case scenario, yes.

**ME:** How many swimmers does the Olympic team take in the 100 freestyle?
**MC:** In every event, they take the top two swimmers, but in the 100 and the 200 freestyle, they take the top six—the top four for relays and then two for alternates.

**ME:** Are you a better long course (50 meters) or short course (25 meters) swimmer?
**MC:** Traditionally, better short course, but so far this summer, long course has proven to be very good. I just got back from a Grand Prix series in France … I placed top-eight in the 100 free and then I got fourth in the 50 freestyle. That was really good, and it was best times. I broke 50 seconds for the first time in the 100-free and I was about 22.5 in the 50 free, which were both best times for me.

**ME:** When do you go back to Mizzou for training?
**MC:** I’ll go back to Mizzou right after Nationals, which will be about Aug. 20.

**ME:** What are your goals for the Mizzou team this year?
**MC:** At SECs, I’m looking for top three. We will have that tournament at our home pool this year, which will be awesome. For NCAAs, I’d really love to crack the top 10. We got 11th this year, and I think we’re only going to be better next year. I think we could be top eight next year, which would be just a great accomplishment for our program.

**ME:** How about your individual goals for the season?
**MC:** The goal is to win a national championship this year in the 50 or the 100 free. I was fifth this past year in the 100 free and three of the guys ahead of me are graduating. So it’s me, and then the reigning national champion is Kristian Gkolomeev; he’s from Alabama and he’s my year … It would be a great to finally win that.

**ME:** How have you enjoyed working with Mizzou’s coaches?
**MC:** They’re so awesome. The great thing about where I am is I’ve gotten to jump around to each coach, so I’m not strictly limited to the sprint group or strictly limited to the mid-distance group. Each coach has something different to offer.

**ME:** How much are you learning from these Olympians that you’re swimming with over the summer?
**MC:** So much. Part of the best thing about being home and working with them has just been watching how they act in practice and how they live that Olympian lifestyle. Everyday, it’s walk in the pool, get their stuff done and then turn it off. Everyday is going in, going out and doing that same routine. They are teaching me how we train for meets, how we get ready for the races, how they warm down, how they eat well. You can’t read about that. You have to be there, witness it and learn it.

**ME:** Is there anything you’d like to add?
**MC:** I think we had a great year. We worked hard, we’ve come such a long way from the past three years. We’re heading in a great direction and we’re only going to keep getting better and with the new addition of (transfer) Fabian (Schwingenschlogl), I just think we’re going to keep getting momentum and keep going forward.