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≡ ROWDY GAINES WRITES ≡
American icon Rowdy Gaines, the triple gold winner at the 1984 Olympic Games and decades-long commentator on NBC, wrote a lengthy follow-up to his Associated Press interview about the U.S. performance at the World Aquatics Championships and the Instagram post by all-time greats Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte that featured a tombstone “burying” USA Swimming in 2025.
Gaines’ 1,022-word message appeared on both SwimmingWorldMagazine.com and SwimSwam.com, the leading U.S. swim news sites and included:
● “Last week, when he [Phelps] shared that symbolic image on social media, a message suggesting that USA Swimming faces a choice: rebuild with purpose or risk losing its identity. It wasn’t a eulogy. It was a challenge, a call for all of us to reflect, refocus, and demand more from the systems that support our athletes.
“It was a reminder that no program, no matter how decorated, is immune to decline without direction.”
● “This isn’t about throwing stones at the athletes. Far from it. I’ve spent the last 50 years as one of their biggest cheerleaders. But both Michael and I are saying what many are thinking: something is broken in the way USA Swimming is being run. And if we don’t fix it now, we risk losing the very culture of excellence that built this program in the first place.
“This conversation isn’t a criticism of the athletes. My belief in these athletes is exactly why I’m raising this concern. They deserve better from the system around them.
“When both Michael and I speak up, it’s because we see what many inside the sport already know: the structure guiding USA Swimming is not functioning as it should.
“And if we don’t address that now, we risk losing the very culture of excellence that made Team USA the global standard in the first place.”
● “The athletes are showing up. The coaches are doing the work. And our club programs – the lifeblood of American swimming – continue to develop world-class talent every day.
“They haven’t failed. But the system that’s supposed to support them? That’s another story.
“There are hardworking, passionate people inside USA Swimming – including the new National Team Director. I give full credit to Coach Greg Meehan for his leadership at the World Championships under impossible circumstances.
“But they’ve been left without clear direction. No permanent CEO. No long-term plan. No real support. That’s not just frustrating. It’s demoralizing.
“They deserve better. We all do.”
Gaines also stated:
“He [Phelps] didn’t post that message for attention. He has nothing to gain by speaking out. He did it because he knows something has to change. Because he cares. Because he’s not willing to sit on the sidelines when the sport he helped elevate is losing direction.
“Neither am I.
“We didn’t take this public lightly. But we’re out of time for silence. This isn’t about drama. It’s about accountability. It’s about urgency. It’s about making sure that when LA 2028 arrives, we are ready – not just to win medals, but to show the world what makes American swimming great.”
Gaines acknowledged that the American team showed “resilience” after the training-camp illness epidemic and won the swimming medal count, but worried about the sport’s “long-term health” in the U.S. He called the long wait for a new chief executive for USA Swimming, “a failure of leadership.”
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For context, the U.S. swim team, despite the sickness problems, won 29 medals, including nine gold, 11 silver and nine bronzes; Australia was next with 20 (8-6-6). The 29-medal total was the most for a U.S. team at the Worlds since 2022 (45), but was the third straight Worlds or Olympics in which the U.S. team did not win at least 10 events.
USA Swimming let go of seven-year chief executive Tim Hinchey on 29 August 2024, instituting a search that named University of Delaware athletic director Chrissi Rawak on 19 February 2025. But before she could start – scheduled for 14 March – she withdrew on 28 February.
A new search was instituted, but no new chief executive has been named. USA Swimming hired Meehan as its National Team Director on 11 April, and promoted communications and marketing chief Jake Grosser to Chief Operating Officer on 9 July of this year.
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