Coach by day, international competitor on weekends.
Malibu Seawolves head coach Mike Alexandrov won a silver medal for the United States in the 100- meter breaststroke last week at the 27th annual World University Games in Kazan, Russia. His silver-medal performance clocked in 1:00.30, only 0.3 seconds behind Yasuhiro Koseki of Japan, who won the gold in a time of 1:00.00.
“I really wanted to get a best time, but I’m very happy with my performance and winning the medal,” said Alexandrov, who competed against 55 other swimmers. “I had good pacing and a solid overall swim, and it’s always an incredible feeling to see the American flag being raised.”
Taking place every two years, the World University Games are an international event organized for athletes by the International Sports Federation. Alexandrov was selected to the 2013 World University Games team roster based on his performance at the 2012 U.S. Open Championships.
Alexandrov, 28, also competed in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke and 200-meter breaststroke. In a field of 64 swimmers, Alexandrov tied for fourth place in the 50-meter breaststroke with a time of 27.84. He took eighth in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:12.79) to cap off finals appearances in all three of his events.
When asked how he felt representing the United States in the WUG, Alexandrov was elated.
“I love the WUG mainly because it has an Olympic kind of feel to it. After competing in two Olympic Games, I love coming and seeing all the other sports and being in this elite athlete atmosphere,” Alexandrov said. “Everything about coming together and competing as the world’s best athletes is awesome.”
Alexandrov, who began competing for the United States in 2009 after participating in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics as a member of the Bulgarian National team, narrowly missed qualifying for the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, that begin Friday.
At the 2013 Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships & World Championship Trials held June 25 – 29 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Alexandrov took third in two of his three races. Needing to finish in the top two spots of an event to move on to Barcelona, he recorded times of 27.53 in the 50-meter breaststroke and 1:00.39 in the 100-meter breaststroke to finish third in each race. He finished seventh in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:13.12.
Finishing in the top three in the country in two separate races was quite an accomplishment for Alexandrov, who became head coach of Malibu Sea Wolves Swimming (MSS) in August of 2012.
“I was a bit off my personal bests, but I was happy to be at the top of the U.S. Swimming in the breaststroke events. I was happy to go compete and see some new faces in the water,” he said. “It’s always a great time to go to U.S. Summer Nationals and see how everyone does in preparation for the world competitions later in the summer.”
Max Jaben, who assists Alexandrov with the MSS program and swam for Israel in the 2008 Olympics, also competed at the U.S. Nationals Championships, finishing 32nd in the nation in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:52.04. Eleven-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte won the race in 1:45.97.
“I was not very enthused with my performance at the U.S. Nationals, but when keeping perspective, I am happy. These days, I train about five workouts a week at most, when in the prime of my career I averaged 10 workouts per week,” explained Jaben, founder of Swim Fit LA. “When at one point in time I was the youngest competitor on the national level, I am now one of the oldest. I am happy to say I can still compete at an elite level at 27 years old, without fully dedicating myself to the training time needed to be great. I am truly enjoying myself.”