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≡ WHAT GOES ON HERE? ≡
As USA Swimming concluded its summer nationals in irvine, discussion surrounding the American team’s performance at the World Aquatics Championships continued.
During the meet, the U.S. performance – 29 medals to lead all nations (9-11-9) – drew criticism from American legends Rowdy Gaines, Michael phelps and Ryan Lochte. Gaines observed:
“We’re far from killing it. It’s a major struggle,and we can’t hide our heads in the sand and say this is just a blip.”
He acknowledged the illness issues that began in the pre-meet training camp in Thailand and inexperience, but also pointed to a lack of leadership within the organization, as USA Swimming has been without a chief executive as August 2024.
Gaines followed up with a lengthy editorial published on leading swim news sites, SwimSwam.com and SwimmingWorldMagazine.com last week, further emphasizing his concerns:
“[The athletes] haven’t failed. But the system that’s supposed to support them? That’s another story.”
USA Swimming responded on Friday with a statement provided to the BigFriendlySwimPodcast and posted on its Instagram page, attributed to interim chief executive Bob Vincent:
“We respect and value the opinions of Rowdy, Michael, Ryan, and all USA Swimming alums. We acknowledge that their comments come from a place of passion and genuine desire to see USA Swimming succeed.
“We are saddened and disappointed at the timing of the comments. The USA Swimming team battled severe illness in Singapore, and these comments added public scrutiny to an already challenging situation for our athletes and coaches.
“We are incredibly proud of the resilience of our team in the face of such difficult circumstances and remain confident in the leadership, strategic direction, and culture established by newly appointed National Team Managing Director Greg meehan.
“USA Swimming has reached out directly to Rowdy and other notable alums.