News, Singapore2025 Archive

Singapore Day 8 - Swimming Wrap

The McIntosh - Marchand show lived up to expectation before the USA women's medley team provided the curtain-closing fireworks at the 22nd World Championships

by Craig Lord

published August 04, 2025

Singapore Day 8 - Swimming Wrap — The Queen and King of Singapore 2025 - Summer McIntosh and Léon Marchand

Towering efforts from Sumner McIntosh, Léon Marchand and a World record for the USA women's 4x100m medley of Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske provided the thrilling and decisive seals on the Singapore 2025 World Championships vault.

All day 8 words needed from me are in the SOS reports, links below.

Thanks for tuning in to our coverage. The live job is a big one in swimming, with long hours and days, spills and thrills a part of the media job. It is far easier to cover these things remotely but to do so misses the set, lights, action, cut of it all, the theatre play, the curtain calls, the gold of being there, asking questions, listening and watching the real people respond and interact in the real world is unbeatable and essential.

The press conference that followed the greatest women's distance freestyle race in history - Katie Ledecky, Lani Pallister, Summer McIntosh and Simona Quadarella - was a case in point.

And, in the depths of the men's 1500m free report on day 8, the point about being there and understanding screamed in the words of Bobby Finke, which are worth repeating here in public view:

Finke then sent a very strong message home to armchair critics:

"I'm proud of the USA team and what we've been able to accomplish, despite all the people back at home saying whatever they want to say. But you know, I'm proud of these boys. If someone's angry, my DMs are open, do whatever you want, okay? But you know, I'm proud of the team and what we've been able to do here…it's a big stepping point for the 2028 LA Olympics.”

“There’s a lot of people who want to comment on what they think is going on behind the scenes, and you know, some of what they said is true. We should probably have a USA swimming CEO by now, but it's not going to change how we're going to compete here. And personally, I have to disagree with what some say, that our swimmers are entitled. I think that's a weak statement.

“There's a lot of stupid stuff being said. They have zero clue, like, the kind of teamwork that we have behind the scenes, and how well we're being put together. We have like, 11 new guys on a team, and there's a lot of high schoolers… those boys stepped up. And despite everything that was happening these past two weeks, we did great work.

“I don't understand why people are mad. We went to Thailand too, that resort had a very good history of stuff. And don't think it was the resort's fault. You know, it's just, you can't predict everything that's gonna happen. Shit’s gonna happen. That resort's got a great reputation. It's like, why not go there? You’re never gonna win with those people. So I have a lot of thoughts. My brain has just been spiralling. I'm just disappointed, but I'm gonna back these boys no matter what they say.”

Good for him.

As he says, USA Swimming does indeed need to get on with its key appointments - and the organisation would be all the healthier for moving away from the bubble in which some of the same people have held huge sway and influence over American links to governance at home and abroad.

Time to find some fresh folk with new ideas and a deeper understanding of the words integrity and transparency. Some of that plays into the lives of 'team', but Finke is right when he suggests that the success of a national team ultimately comes down to the coal face, not the boardroom.

What we see unfold in the light of super troupers is the product of the work that gets done day after day by all those at the very coal face of the job: athletes, coaches and the sports scientists, physiologists, psychologists and so on. The role of governance is to ensure that those people have the vey best of everything they need in the very specific work environment of cutting-edge, world-class sport, with understanding and without interference in the field of expertise and hands-on experience of the kind that for so long was passed down from generation to generation.

The board and management should not be involved in team selections. Period - in my opinion. They should be involved in the checks and balances required to know when intervention is required - and essential - for reasons of safe sport and related issues that demand full responsibility to be taken by governors as much as those they govern.

Ok, so, Day 8 .... and please note, if you read elsewhere and hear elsewhere anyone wobbling on about how the number of nations making medals - and even gold medals - has swelled beyond recognition ... ignore them. It simply isn't true - and the medals tables of the past are all the evidence one needs.