Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history with 28 medals, has launched a stinging attack on USA Swimming, accusing its leadership of poor governance and calling for sweeping reforms to restore the sport\u2019s dominance.<\/p>\n
In a candid Instagram post, Phelps said the sport\u2019s decline over the past decade has left him questioning whether he would want his four young sons to compete under the current regime. He revealed that even during his competitive career, his concerns were brushed aside. \u201cI was told to be grateful for the chance to compete and that it was more important to stay quiet and keep the peace,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Phelps clarified that his criticism was not directed at athletes, praising the U.S. swimmers who competed at the World Championships. Instead, he pointed to systemic issues. \u201cThere have always been cracks, but in the last nine years I\u2019ve seen those cracks grow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Highlighting the team\u2019s lowest Olympic medal haul since Athens 2004 \u2014 28 medals at Paris 2024 \u2014 Phelps contrasted it with their peak of 33 medals at Rio 2016. He claimed that a letter he sent to USA Swimming outlining his concerns \u201cfell on deaf ears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t on the athletes \u2014 they\u2019re doing the best they can with what they\u2019ve been given,\u201d Phelps added. \u201cThis is on the leadership. Poor leadership trickles down and impacts every level. Money is a factor, but poor operational controls and weak leadership are at the core.\u201d<\/p>\n
PROPOSED CHANGES AND SUPPORT FROM LOCHTE<\/p>\n
Phelps\u2019 recommendations include an independent review of the Board of Directors, improved athlete services, and stronger grassroots programs to reverse declining membership. He also offered his own expertise to help drive change.<\/p>\n
His comments follow a similar outburst from six-time Olympic champion Ryan Lochte, who posted an image of a tombstone reading: \u201cIn loving memory of United States Swimming. They set the bar high \u2014 until they stopped reaching for it.\u201d Phelps shared the post, adding: \u201cIs this the wake-up call USA Swimming needed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite recent struggles, the U.S. still topped the medal table at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, securing nine golds and 29 medals overall.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Amar Panicker<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Aug 14, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history with 28 medals, has launched a stinging attack on USA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[92433,122198,11178,49,978,122197,659,10773],"class_list":{"0":"post-343878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-michael-phelps","9":"tag-swimming-in-america","10":"tag-swimming-news","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-us","13":"tag-us-swimming","14":"tag-usa","15":"tag-usa-swimming"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115027205565226040","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}