On Tuesday, SwimSwam reported that beginning in 2028, the USOPC would no longer allow international swimmers to use the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center (USOPTC) in Colorado Springs. A spokesperson for USA Swimming elaborated to SwimSwam today that this policy would only be in effect for the 2028 Olympic year.
USA Swimming CEO Kevin Ring first revealed the new policy when he appeared on the SwimSwam podcast last week, saying, “The USOPC had a policy that starting in 2028, only American athletes will swim at USOPC facilities.” This came in response to a question about the complaint that American coaches are training international athletes to surpass America.
On Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for USA Swimming told SwimSwam that the policy is not a “permanent stance” and will only be an Olympic year only policy.
In 2029, they should be allowed back under the normal rules of paying more than the U.S. athletes. The 2025 rates for a full on-site stay are $90 per night for American athletes and $125 per night for international athletes. Texas’ recent 24-day training trip would have cost $2,160 for each American swimmer and $3,000 for each international swimmer, assuming they spent 24 nights at the OPTC.
The USOPTC is not directly funded by American taxpayers, so this cost is crucial in keeping the facilities running.
The rate includes lodging, training, and all meals at the facility, which is what makes the USOPTC a desirable training trip destination over other altitude training locations like the Northern Arizona pool in Flagstaff.
The 2028 Olympic Games will be the first Summer Olympics on U.S. soil since the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
he’s already backing down …
$$$$$$$
I think if they just came out and said frankly that during 2028 and the lead up to the Olympics they are simply going to prioritize US swimmers with regards to space, that’s all they would have had to explain and everyone would see it as a completely reasonable decision. The whole thing was just bad messaging at the start
So rare for USA Swimming.
It’s call the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center for a reason. Individuals and companies supporting it are not paying for / donating to an “international” training center. Michigan doesn’t open their training facility to Ohio State, Auburn and Alabama would rather burn their own house’s down than help each other, and I certainly don’t want to see international swimmer training under a USA Flag and then having the flag of another country raised when they win a gold medal.
Drexel opened their pool for Penn to train at.
Not true, colleges let competitors train before and after meets at their facilities all the time.
Are there requirements for the athletes caliber to lodge at the USOPTC?
I thought I remember a friend from college triathlon club attending.
With Texas, you have Leon from France and Summer who trained at altitude in France last year. Going over there in 2028 presumably an option for them.
Or Flagstaff, much closer. Don’t need to go over to europe.
Or Flagstaff. Much closer
I don’t want to criticize the decision to exclude foreign swimmers from the USOPTC as overly nationalistic or petty. But it does feel better to see swimming as more of an international sport, where the best athletes and coaches seek out each other. I remember the grumblings in Australia when Ian Thorpe’s former coach went on to coach Sun Yang to great success, but ultimately such transnational collaborations are good for the sport.
Hackett’s former coach. Dennis Cotterill.
And also in europe training centers is open for foreign athletes.
CAR Sierra Nevada Wich i believe is Runner by the spanish government is open to everyone, not just spanish athletes. And also in Livigno, Italy is also open to foreign athletes. So i don’t see the problem with International athletes training at OTC
For anyone who didn’t see, MP posted the article on his insta story with the caption “What are our goals? (blank face emoji) I thrived training w all athletes. Never discriminated”
I just can’t understand what he wants…he says American swimming is dying but is upset about a advantage being given to them as well🤷♀️
Ehhh…Maybe he wants America to win without being given advantages. MP always wants to be the best, the real best.
did he train with foreign athletes during this career?
Yannick Agnel is the only one who comes to mind, but I remember hearing somewhere that it wasn’t the best pairing bc yannick didn’t respect bowman or something
He and Grant Hackett are very close and I think that stemmed from a couple months training together.
Maybe he understands that this move doesn’t actually provide an advantage to Americans
Firstly, I would guess he’s of the camp that training with elite foreign athletes will lift Americans as well. (I’m inclined to agree.)
Secondly, the coach training the most successful foreign athletes is part of his family haha, he is going to publicly be against this. I really do think that as someone else said, he wants American swimmers to claw their way to the top without “punishing” other countries though.
He’s a mouthpiece for whatever his old coach wants…..it’s pretty obvious.
NAU punching the drywall rn