Michael Phelps has once again called out USA Swimming following an underwhelming performance in the 2025 World Championships.
“No one really wants to talk about how broken USA Swimming has become,” Phelps, 40, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, August 13. “But, if we don’t talk about it, it won’t get fixed.”
The 23-time Olympic gold medal winner joined fellow former pro swimmers Ryan Lochte and Rowdy Gaines in criticizing USA Swimming’s recent performance at the World Championships in Singapore, where the U.S. barely led the medal table for swimming despite trailing China until the final day of competition. USA Swimming took home 10 gold medals total, which was well below the 15 won by China.
USA Swimming initially responded to the criticism by saying in a statement that it “respect[ed] and value[d] the opinions of Rowdy, Michael, Ryan, and all USA Swimming alums,” but was “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,” interim CEO Bob Vincent said. “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’s statement continued, “USA Swimming has reached out directly to Rowdy and other notable alums in recent months, offering them a forum, including an invitation to join in a more official manner. The door remains open, as the only path forward for our sport is to work collectively to achieve a shared vision of success. We remain focused on the task at hand: Winning LA28 (Los Angeles Olympics in 2028).”
Phelps refused to back down, although he acknowledged that he’d “faced some pushback” from USA Swimming and its supporters. In an open letter, Phelps stressed that he had “the utmost respect” for USA Swimming’s athletes and, instead, took issue with the team’s “failing leadership.”
“There have always been cracks in the system, but in the last nine years, I’ve seen those cracks grow,” he wrote on Wednesday. “In 2016, I had the honor of being part of a U.S. swim team in [the Rio Olympics] that was arguably the most successful in the sport’s history and we won 57% of the medals we had the opportunity to win.”
Phelps noted that, “eight years” later at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, USA Swimming only won “44% of the medals they had the opportunity to win in the pool.” (USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey left the organization following the Paris games, with Meehan coming on board to manage the national team.)
“[That’s] the lowest percentage the sport had seen since the 1988 Olympics,” Phelps noted. “I’ve asked myself what’s changed in our sport and the answer is clear … this isn’t on the athletes as they continue to do the best they can with what they’ve been given. This is on the leadership of USA Swimming. Poor leadership trickles down and can impact an organization at every level.”
Phelps mentioned that he’d raised these complaints in the past, including in a letter he sent directly to USA Swimming earlier this year, though he ultimately felt that his “voice went unheard.”
“Money is a factor [in the slump],” he acknowledged. “But poor operational controls and weak leadership are a cornerstone of the sport’s problems.”
The Olympian then argued, “I’ve watched too many teammates struggle to compete in a sport they love without the support they need. I’ve also seen the sport struggle to return its membership numbers to pre-pandemic levels, and I’m done pretending this system works just because it produces medals.”
Given his current gripe with USA Swimming, Phelps admitted he was uneasy about the possibility of his four sons becoming swimmers someday. (Phelps and his wife, Nicole Johnson, share four sons: Boomer, 9, Beckett, 7, Maverick, 5, and Nico, 19 months.)
“As a Dad of four young boys, it pains me to say I’m not sure if I’d want my sons to be part of this sport at a competitive level,” he acknowledged. “Yes, swimming changed my life but it also caused a lot of heartache, and its current state makes me both sad and angry.”
Phelps vowed that he was “not ready to give up” on USA Swimming, yet he demanded “accountability” and “transparency” about the issues facing the organization.
“We need athlete voices at the center, not at the margins,” he wrote. “We need systemic change.”
Us Weekly has reached out to USA Swimming for comment.
Phelps’ contemporary Gaines has also continued to take issue with USA Swimming’s leadership in the wake of the team’s poor performance in Singapore. The three-time Olympic medal winner wrote via Instagram last week that he was “not backing down” from clashing with USA Swimming and suggested that “when Michael Phelps speaks, the swimming world should listen.”
Read the full article here
