HomeAquaticsSWIMMING: Gaines, Lochte, Phelps rip U.S. performance at Worlds; Finke slaps back, but only 31% of U.S....

SWIMMING: Gaines, Lochte, Phelps rip U.S. performance at Worlds; Finke slaps back, but only 31% of U.S. entries bettered Trials marks

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≡ ANALYSIS & OBSERVATIONS ≡

The United States swim team won 29 medals at the just-concluded World Aquatics Championships in Singapore to lead the medal table once again, with nine golds – most of any nation – 11 silvers and nine bronzes. Australia was second with 20.

The achievements were all the more impressive after the extensive gastrointestinal trouble experienced by half the team or more, during their pre-Worlds training camp in Thailand.

But American swimming legends were hardly impressed:

Rowdy Gaines, the 1984 Olympic sprint icon, told The Associated Press:

“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.

“You can blame it on the illness, you can blame it on the inexperience – most of these kids have never been in this situation – and you can blame it on logistics. [A pre-meet camp in] Thailand doesn’t make sense to me in the first place.”

He also noted the “state of today’s athletes,” explaining “I think in some cases there’s an entitlement for a lot of these kids. They feel like, ‘I should be in the finals of the world championships. And I can still do the peripheral stuff and not worry about making it all the way.’ I think there needs to be a more focused attitude on the task at hand.”

Gaines also felt that USA Swimming needs help, saying, “I do think changes need to be made. There needs to be a complete reset. But I don’t think the sky is falling. But there needs to be some great leadership. Whoever they hire as CEO needs to be the leader that is sorely needed.”

● Olympic legends Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps were more acidic, with an Instagram post showing a tombstone engraved with:

“In Loving Memory of
“United States Swimming
“1980-2025
“Aged 45
“‘They set the bar high – until they stopped reaching for it’”

At the top of the illustration was “Call it a funeral, or call it a fresh start. We’ve got 3 years” and at the bottom was added, “Is this the wake up call USA swimming needed? Let’s find out …”

● But Olympic distance champion Bobby Finke, who won a men’s 1,500 m Free bronze in Singapore, commented:

“There’s a lot of stuff being said. They have zero clue [about] the kind of teamwork that we have behind the scenes, and how well we’re being put together. We have [about] eleven new guys on a team, and there’s a lot of high schoolers. Those boys stepped up. And despite everything that was happening these past two weeks, we did great work.”

Now, what actually happened? As far as the medal count, it’s instructive to look at the U.S. performance on the medals stand over the last 10 World Championships and Olympic Games from 2015-2025:

2025 Worlds: 29 total (9-11-9) in 42 events
2024 Games: 28 total (8-13-7) in 37 events
2024 Worlds: 20 total (8-6-6) in 42 events
2023 Worlds: 25 total (13-7-5) in 42 events
2022 Worlds: 45 total (17-12-16) in 42 events
2021 Games: 30 total (11-10-9) in 37 events
2019 Worlds: 27 total (14-8-5) in 42 events
2017 Worlds: 38 total (18-10-10) in 42 events
2016 Games: 33 total (16-8-9) in 35 events
2015 Worlds: 23 total (8-10-5) in 42 events

Recognizing that the 2024 Worlds in Doha (QAT) were lightly attended because of training for the upcoming Olympic Games, the American medal output was average or better this year excepting the 2017 and 2022 Worlds and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the Tokyo Olympic performance was also good, in a limited event program.

One way to measure the quality of the Worlds or Olympic performance is to look at the performances on the world stage compared to what it took to make it onto the U.S. team. Comparing the times posted in the last stage competed in (final, semi or heats) at the last three Olympic Games with the performances it took to make the American team at the U.S. Trials:

● 57.7% at Rio 2016: 30 better out of 52
● 51.8% at Tokyo 2020: 29 better out of 56
● 30.4% at Paris 2024: 17 better out of 56

The trend is clearly down. Looking at the 2023 Worlds – with everyone present – and 2025, the drop-off from the excellent Rio and good Tokyo levels is obvious:

● 33.3% at 2023 Worlds: 22 better out of 66
● 30.6% at 2025 Worlds: 19 better out of 62

That’s not going to get it done. Looking at the last three years in more detail:

2023 Worlds: 33.3% overall ~ Men: 15/32 or 44.1%; Women: 7/34 or 20.1%
2024 Games: 30.4% overall ~ Men: 4/28 or 14.3%; Women: 13/28 or 46.4%
2025 Worlds: 30.6% overall ~ Men: 7/31 or 22.6%; Women: 12/31 or 38.7%

The gastro problems from the Thailand training camp noticeably impacted the situation in Singapore, as Josh Matheny and Carson Foster scratched events for the men and Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske and Claire Weinstein all scratched events for the women.

Moreover, eight of the 12 women’s performances that were better at the Worlds came from just three swimmers: Katie Ledecky (3), Regan Smith (3) and Kate Douglass (2).

Then there were the relays. In 2023, American teams medaled in all eight relays, winning two, with four silvers and two bronzes. In 2025, the U.S. didn’t qualify for the mixed 4×100 Medley and otherwise won two golds, two silvers and two bronzes. The women medaled in all three of their relays; the men were two-of-three and the mixed teams were 1-2. For a team with the depth of the U.S., this was not impressive.

Whatever the formula was at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and for the post-Olympic 2017 and 2022 Worlds – where the U.S. dominated – worked. American production and performances in swimming were down for Paris in 2024 and the same was true, despite topping the medal table, in 2025.

But as Lochte and Phelps pointed out, there are three years to go to Los Angeles in 2028. Oh yes, and hire a food taster!

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