Michael Phelps won’t encourage son to swim in the US swimming struggle

Michael Phelps After a poor performance in the 2025 World Championships, the United States has called for the United States to swim again.

Phelps, 40, Instagram Wednesday, August 13. “But if we don’t talk about it, it won’t fix it.”

The 23-time Olympic gold medalist joins former professional swimmer Ryan Lochte and Rowdy Gaines In criticizing the recent performance of American Swimming at the World Championships held in Singapore, the United States has hardly any of them. Leadership medal table Despite being behind China, until the last day of the game. The United States won a total of 10 gold medals, far below China’s 15 won.

American Swimming initially responded to criticism and said in a statement “Respect[ed] and value[d] Rowdy, Michael, Ryan and all American swimming alumni commented, but “is sad and disappointed with the timing of the comments. ”

“The U.S. swimming team is fighting severe illness in Singapore, and these comments add public scrutiny to the situation of our athletes and coaches,” interim CEO Bob Vincent explain. “In the face of this difficult situation, we are extremely proud of the resilience of our team and are confident in the leadership, strategic direction and culture established by the newly appointed Managing Director of the National Team, Greg Meehan. ”

The statement from Swimming in the United States continued: “In recent months, Swimming in America has contacted Rowdy and other well-known alums directly, providing them with a forum that includes invitations to join in a more formal way. The door remains open because the only way forward of our sport is to work together to achieve a shared vision of success. We are still focused on the task at hand: Winning the LA28 LA28 (LOS ENSES ELMEMPICS OLMYMPICS 2028).

Phelps refused to back down, although he admitted he would “face some challenges” from American swimming and its supporters. Phelps stressed in an open letter that he had “greatest respect” for American swimmers and was skeptical of the team’s “leadership failure.”

“There are always cracks in the system, but over the past nine years, I have seen these cracks grow,” he wrote on Wednesday. “In 2016, I was honored to be a part of the U.S. swimming team. [the Rio Olympics] Arguably this is the most successful in the sport’s history, and we won 57% of the medals we have a chance to win. ”

Phelps noted that at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, USA, the “eight years” swim won only “44% of the medals they have a chance to win in the pool”. (Chief Executive Officer of Swimming in the United States Tim Hinchey Leaving the organization after the Paris Games, Meehan participated in the management of the national team.

“[That’s] The lowest percentage that the sport has seen since the 1988 Olympics is. “This is under the leadership of American swimming. Poor leadership drips and can affect the organization at all levels.”

Phelps mentioned that he would These complaints were filed In the past, including in a letter he sent directly to Swimming in the United States earlier this year, although he eventually felt that his “voice was unheard of.”

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“Money is a factor [in the slump],” he admitted. “But poor operational control and weak leadership are the cornerstone of the sport’s problems. ”

The Olympian then argued: “I watched too many teammates struggle to play the sport they like without the support they need. I also saw the sport fight, returning its membership numbers to pre-pandemic levels, and I did the role of pretending that the system was just because it produced medals.”

Given his current pain in swimming in the United States, Phelps admits he was upset that he had four sons one day becoming swimmers. (Pelps and his wife, Nicole Johnsaun, share four sons: Boomer, 9, Beckett, 7, Maverick, 5 and Nico, 19 months. )

“As a father of four little boys, it’s hard to say I’m not sure if I wish my son would be able to join the sport at a competitive level,” he admitted. “Yes, swimming has changed my life, but it has also caused a lot of heartache, and its current state has made me both sad and angry.”

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Phelps vowed that he was “not ready to give up” in the US swimming, but he demanded “accountability” and “transparency” for the problems facing the organization.

“We need athlete voices at the center, not at the edge,” he wrote. “We need changes in the system.”

US Weekly Already commented with American Swimming.

Phelps’ contemporary Gaines continues to question the leadership of American swimming after the team’s underperformance in Singapore. Three Olympic medal winners passed Instagram Last week, he “don’t back down” from his conflict with the U.S. swimming and suggested that “the world of swimming should listen when Michael Phelps speaks.”