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USA Swimming announced sweeping changes on Thursday after a difficult showing at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Yes, the United States eventually topped the medal count in both gold and total medals. But it took until the final day of the competition to do so. The U.S. won its fewest gold medals in the pool since 1988 and its fewest total medals since 2004. There are also three more events in the Olympic program now than there was at the time.
Additionally, Team USA struggled mightily in individual events, particularly on the men’s side.
Bobby Finke’s Olympic record swim to win gold in the 1500-meter freestyle represented the lone gold medal for the American men individually. Team USA’s men won just two gold medals in total in the pool. The women had far more success, with Katie Ledecky (2x), Kate Douglass and Tori Huske each claiming gold, in addition to gold in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay.
But that wasn’t enough to save the jobs of USA Swimming CEO Tim Hinchey and national team manager Lindsay Mintenko.
Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated reports that both Hinchey and Mintenko are expected to part ways with USA Swimming.
“Mintenko, who has held her position since 2017, already has informed some colleagues that she intends to leave USA Swimming,” Forde reports that sources told him. “The buck stops on Mintenko’s desk for the U.S. competitive performance, and recent results make it hard to return.
“Mintenko’s lack of coaching experience and overall leadership skills were viewed as detriments by many in the USA Swimming hierarchy. In the past that position has been filled by former coaches who were providing hands-on feedback to swimmers and coaching staff on the pool deck.”
Hinchey, meanwhile, faces a potential contract renewal in 2025. But Forde says a decision is likely to come soon and both parties are likely to “explore other options.”
Forde did not name any potential successors for either position. But he did note that Bob Bowman, the former coach of Michael Phelps, is likely out of the running.