Tim Hinchey is to leave his post as President and CEO of USA Swimming this afternoon, while Lindsay Mintenko is considering her position as National Team Managing Director, sources have confirmed.

The seismic shift at the federation follows a narrow lead over Australia at the helm of the medals table at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games earlier this month. Underpinning that outcome was clear evidence of a narrowing of the gap between the super powers of the pool and a range of other countries that together are bringing days of USA dominance to a close.

It is no secret that coaches and programs have been calling for a change in direction as the United States heads into its home Games cycle ahead of the Los Angeles Games of 2028.

Several leading coaches and former Olympians took to social media to call for changes that would ensure, as one put it, a situation in which "the USA should aim to win every gold in the pool at LA'28 ... we've had that kind of success before and we can have it again".

Hinchey's departure will be announced this afternoon in Colorado Springs after staff were informed of the pending moves.

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated was first with the news of Hinchey's imminent departure a week after letters from the USA Swimming’s Coaches Advisory Council and the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) called for leadership changes.

Hinchey took the reins in 2017 and then assumed the role of CEO of the USA Swimming Foundation in 2019. His contract with USA Swimming runs until 2025, today's shifts in the sand pre-empting what may already have been inevitable.

Mintenko, a USA Olympian and Lindsay Benko, arrived at the same time as Hinchey, in 2017 as Managing Director. The role used to be that of "National Team Director", a position held for many years by Mark Schubert.

On Mintenko's watch, the title shifted in line with a move away from a coaching priority. It is understood that coaches want a greater say and a return to having a senior, successful and experienced coach back in as National Team Director.

The Message From Coaches

Hinchey is said to have lost the support of the coaching community in the USA over registration processes and numbers: the pas two years have witnessed the lowest level of registrations since 2012. If you don't get the numbers in, you face the same issue as many other countries: the talent pool is limited, the days of having gold contenders in every event over. At least for now. LA'29 will surely be an incentive for the USA to raise its game from a standard that is not exactly shabby: indeed, it's medal tally in Paris, low by the standards of previous Games, is one that almost every nation barring Australia in current form, can only envy.

As the search for better ramps up, a fall in the number of development select camps is a trend heading in the wrong direction. Making that situation worse, the Junior National Team Director role has been vacant for several years of Hinchey's tenure.

Jobs Up For Grabs?

The positions are attractive, not only because of the prestige of leading the World's No1 swim team:

• the most recent accounts for USA Swimming show that Hinchey was renumerated to the tune of $910,568 for his job, while receiving $62,895 on top, an amount many people take home as their only and main pay, in an “estimated amount of other compensation" from USA Swimming and fellow organisations.
• Mintenko earned $293,927 the same year, along with $52,951 of "other compensation".

Beyond the coaching issues and the kind of emphasis and priorities that had long kept the rest-of-world wolf from the door, Hinchey presided over a federation which, like many others around the world, fell ion harder times during the Covid pandemic.

Sexual abuse scandals remained an issue for USA Swimming on Hinchey's watch: despite Safe Sport measures and greater transparency in more recent years, the ghosts of the pasts continue to press the case for official apology, legal address and compensation for past failings that many feel have yet to be acknowledged, let alone addressed.

Hinchey succeeded Chuck Wielgus as CEO of USA Swimming when Wielgus lost his fight with cancer after leading the swim federation for two decades, during which the sex abuse scandals cost him nomination to the Hall of Fame as women campaign groups lobbied ISHOF not to reward anyone with direct connection to the decision-making process when abuse cases were brought to the federation's attention.

From afar, the ugly stand-off often feels like a fight of lawyers that if anything contributes to delaying or even halting processes designed to find genuine resolution, compensation and a restart for the sport on matters of historic abuse. A reconciliation side of that process seems a far-distant horizon in a system grown tribalist: in the blue corner, winner takes all, in the red corner, defend at all cost.

Poor publicity can impact revenue and in 2022 USA Swimming suffered a 45% fall in assets, from $39 million to $21.5 million.

We will point any official announcement from USA Swimming if, as and when possible.