{"id":620857,"date":"2025-08-15T08:14:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T15:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=620857"},"modified":"2025-08-15T08:15:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T15:15:31","slug":"the-usa-swimming-war-of-words-how-we-got-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-usa-swimming-war-of-words-how-we-got-here\/","title":{"rendered":"The USA Swimming War of Words: How We Got Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

The USA Swimming War of Words: How We Got Here<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the icons of USA Swimming\u2019s program have been in the news recently, and it\u2019s not in the way that the sport would prefer. It\u2019s also the latest and most public form of dysfunction roiling a sport in which the United States is one of the world\u2019s most dominant nations.<\/p>\n

From statements by Michael Phelps<\/strong> and Rowdy Gaines<\/strong> to the continued directionless drift of USA Swimming, how did we get here? And where, three years away from the Los Angeles Olympics, does it go from here?<\/p>\n

The Background<\/h3>\n

USA Swimming\u2019s 2024 was the capstone on an era. Tim Hinchey,<\/strong> who had led the organization since 2017, stepped down in late August<\/a>. He had navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced USA Swimming registration numbers and imperiled the viability of many swim clubs with a lost summer in 2020. His tenure ended on the high note that was the biggest swim meet in the world<\/a>, the U.S. Olympic Trials held in Indianapolis\u2019 Lucas Oil Stadium in June<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The U.S.\u2019s performance at the Paris Olympics was up-and-down. While the U.S. finished atop the medal table with eight gold and 28 total medals, the men\u2019s team won just one individual gold medal (Bobby Finke<\/strong> on the final day of the meet) and had a number of high-profile misses. Hinchey\u2019s resignation coincided with the resignation<\/a> of Lindsay Mintenko<\/strong> as the national team managing director.<\/p>\n

USA Swimming remains without a permanent CEO<\/a>. Shana Ferguson<\/strong> took over on an interim basis. In February, Chrissi Rawak<\/strong> was hired as the CEO<\/a>, but she withdrew within a week for what was first termed “unforeseen personal circumstances<\/a>” and later revealed to be a SafeSport complaint against the former athletic director<\/a> at the University of Delaware. In March<\/a>, Ferguson left to join the LA2028 organizing committee, with Bob Vincent<\/strong> taking over as interim CEO.<\/p>\n

Mintenko\u2019s job has proven easier to fill, Greg Meehan<\/strong> hired in April for that job<\/a>. Meehan was the NCAA Championship winning coach of Stanford\u2019s women\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

To Singapore<\/h3>\n

The U.S. selected its team for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships at Trials in Indianapolis in June. The team held a staging camp in Thailand in July prior to the competition, standard practice for a meet on a different continent. A number of swimmers \u2013 USA Swimming has not released specifics nor made Meehan available for comment beyond a short interview with NBC Sports during the meet \u2013 came down with an illness that the organization termed acute gastroenteritis. Some had their travel delayed. Others traveled and had onset of symptoms later in the week, with reports indicating that some swimmers lost as much as 15 pounds from their bouts.<\/p>\n

Six swimmers withdrew from individual events<\/a> for health reasons, plus the withdrawal of Gretchen Walsh<\/strong> from the final of the women\u2019s 400 freestyle relay. Many more failed to get anywhere near their trials times. The U.S. ended up atop the medal table again with nine gold and 29 total medals. But the U.S. had just five medals and one gold through the first two days of the meet.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s team performed well as it has almost unerringly in the last few years, medaling in each event until the final day of competition. The men\u2019s team won just one individual gold medal (Luca Urlando <\/strong>in the 200 fly<\/a>) and managed just bronze in the 400 free and 400 medley relays plus fourth in the 800 free. The mixed medley relay finished 10th in prelims and missed the finals.<\/p>\n

The Mud Starts Flying<\/h3>\n

On Aug. 1, the sixth day of the eight-day swimming program, Ryan Lochte<\/strong> posted to Instagram an AI-generated image<\/a> of a headstone reading, \u201cIn loving memory of United States Swimming\u201d with the quote, \u201cThey set the bar high \u2013 until they stopped reaching for it.\u201d Phelps reposted it with the message, \u201cIs this the wake up call USA Swimming needed? Let\u2019s find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Associated Press that day, Gaines called the team\u2019s performance \u201crudderless,\u201d<\/a> aiming his criticism specifically at USA Swimming. That trio is the owner of 32 Olympic gold medals and 43 total medals.<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/h4>\n