Team USA narrowly emerged with the most medals from the pool in Paris, but the future of the sport may lie in its competitors abroad.
PARIS — Your final medal table update from the swimming venue: United States eight gold medals, Australia seven gold medals, the United Nations of Bob Bowman seven gold medals.
The national team manager oversees the competitive aspect of USA Swimming, specifically athlete and coach development at the elite level. Although most swimmer development occurs at the local levels with hundreds of club and university teams, it all has to come together at the national level in a way that maximizes the available talent. And after two straight years of underwhelming results on the international stage, it’s time for some turnover.
The need for domestic improvement is underscored by the fact that the world is brimming with prodigious talent. In addition to the usual strong swimming countries such as Australia, China , Great Britain and Italy, others are rising. Look no further than Ireland, which won three swimming medals. Among the international contingent, many of the swimmers who racked up multiple medals in Paris were young enough to keep improving for Los Angeles. Marchand is 22, as is German gold medalist Lukas Märtens. Kós is 21. Chinese world-record holder Pan Zhanle turned 20 Sunday. Romanian gold medalist David Popovici is 19. On the women’s side, Canadian triple gold medalist Summer McIntosh is all of 17. Australian gold winner Mollie O’Callaghan is 20.
Marchand and Kós aren’t the only international NCAA swimmers who won medals in Paris. At least five other current or former American collegians earned medals for other countries. You won’t find any U.S. swimmers or coaches who support excluding international athletes from coming to America to be their best—but it does increase the level of competition, and that shows no sign of abating.
Despite all that, there are reasons for optimism as well. Even on the men’s side, where the team was caught in something of a generational gap—, and many of the younger ones weren’t ready to be stars.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Katie Ledecky Olympic Swimming Odds for All Races (Will She Set Olympic Swimming Medal Record?)Taking a look at Katie Ledecky's betting odds to win her four swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Read more »
How to watch Artistic Swimming at the 2024 Olympics for freeSwimming may be over, but artistic swimming is just getting started.
Read more »
Work Advice: When work for a foreign government poses a moral dilemmaI worked on a contract for a country that has committed unconscionable human rights violations. How do I get out of meeting with their representative?
Read more »
Think twice before wearing shorts to work, says etiquette expert—even amid heatwaves and hybrid workClimate change and hybrid work policies are contributing to mixed opinions around what clothes are or aren't office-appropriate.
Read more »
Why “Wisdom Work” Is the New “Knowledge Work”Today the workforce is getting older, and the number of younger workers in positions of senior management is growing.
Read more »
Miss Manners: How do I demote my ‘work friend’ to ‘work acquaintance’?In today's Miss Manners column, advice columnist Judith Martin responds to a professor wanting to distance themselves from a coworker.
Read more »