MINAKOV Andrei

General
REMOTE STUDIES
In 2020 he began his studies at Stanford University in the United States of America remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It meant that he stayed in the Russian Federation to train for the Olympic Games in Tokyo during the 2020/21 academic year. He hopes to move to the United States of America to compete for Stanford University during the 2021/22 academic year. (swimswam.com, 28 Aug 2020; rsport.ria.ru, 27 Aug 2020; teamrussia.pro, 03 Jun 2020)

FUTURE PLANS
He is hoping his swimming career can help improve the sporting facilities in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, where he grew up as a child. "My dream is to build a swimming pool in St. Petersburg, so now the goal is to earn money and not only through sports. You can earn with the help of other professions. Mum always said that life is not limited to swimming. At age 30 sport will end, and you need to have something to fall back on. I'd also like a medicine-related career." (olympics.com, 13 Oct 2020; teamrussia.pro, 18 Aug 2019; tass.ru, 27 Jul 2019)

TRAINING IN THE UNITED STATES
He spent summers training with the Terrapins Swim Team in Concord, CA, United States of America from the age of 12 and throughout his teenage years. "I started training in California a little and my coaches from Russia and the US decided on my programme together. I feel at home in both Russia and in the US." (olympics.com, 13 Oct 2020; swimswam.com, 29 Nov 2019)