FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu Resigns after 35 Years

Cornel Marculescu has resigned his position as the executive director at FINA, the world governing body for 6 aquatic disciplines, after 35 years leading the organization. Marcela Saxlund Medvedev, formerly the deputy executive director, has been elevated to interim executive director in his stead, effective Tuesday.

Marculescu advocated for Medvedev to take the position permanently after his departure. This would be a significant move for the organization, whose top leadership since formation in 1908 has been, essentially, all male.

Not insignificant, but the organization’s 85-year old president Julio Maglione will also end his tenure this year after almost 13 years in that role. That includes leading a charge to extend tenure limits, allowing him to serve longer in that role.

The 79-year old Marculescu represented Romania in water polo at the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. He also officiated the Olympic water polo final in 1972.

He spent a decade as technical director for the Spanish Swimming Federation in the 70s and 80s, including when they hosted the World Championships in Madrid in 1986. Later that year, he joined FINA as executive director.

The departure of both Marculescu and Maglione in the same year could lead to significant changes for an organization that has struggled to modernize.

Marculescu’s tenure has seen a dramatic expansion of swimming globally, with bigger events, more series, and more money flowing into the sport. It has also been marked with a substantial number of controversies, including the 2010 death of American swimmer Fran Crippen during an open water race in the UAE, which prompted dramatic changes to the safety regulations within the sport.

Marculescu has attended all 18 FINA World Aquatics Championships in some capacity, and the last 14 Summer Olympic Games.

The tenure has also seen FINA struggle with transparency. The organization has developed a reputation for refusing to respond to or acknowledge media requests, even on mundane or uncontroversial topics, over the last decade.

Marculescu’s tenure has also spanned the biggest doping controversies in the history of the sport, including the East German regime in the 1980s, the Chinese regime in the 1990s, and the more modern issues with both Russia and China.

The two leave FINA at a time where some level of innovation will be required to keep the organization relevant. Swimming, the largest and most profitable of the 6 FINA disciplines, is at a cliff with the upstart International Swimming League. The league currently has the loyalty of many of the elite athletes, but also an unclear business model. Pandemics have kept the two organizations, currently in the midst of antitrust lawsuits, from having the inevitable championship clash, but that could be coming after this summer’s Olympic Games.

 

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Christine
3 years ago

My name is Christine from Kenya. May I please have the official email address of Marcela Saxlund Medvedev?

Irish Ringer
3 years ago

I’m not sure why people work into their 70’s and 80s. Retire already and enjoy the time you have.

Ghost
Reply to  Irish Ringer
3 years ago

Totally agree!

Snarky
3 years ago

How much $ did this guy steal over the years?

Olympian
3 years ago

Does that mean they gonna start paying us decently?? Or in same cases start actually paying??

Mike
3 years ago

When is Dale Neuburger going to resign?

Troyy
3 years ago

FINA resembles an aged care home rather than a sport federation so no wonder they’re stuck in the past. How old is Saxlund Medvedev?

ADS
Reply to  Braden Keith
3 years ago

This is abominable. I see that Craig Lord at https://www.stateofswimming.com/ has had the same experience. Surely high time that national governing bodies if not national governments demanded transparency and integrity from such organisations?!

Mike
Reply to  ADS
3 years ago

Your comment lost credibility as soon as you mentioned Craig Lord! In all seriousness though, I agree it’s unacceptable for FINA to ignore respectful media requests.

2Fat4Speed
3 years ago

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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