SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers what stood out to them the most at the 2025 World Championships regarding the Americans’ performance:
Question: What was your biggest takeaway from the U.S. performance at Worlds?
RESULTS
- Men have work to do (1 individual, 0 relay gold) – 44.0%
- Resilient, respectable given illness (top medal table, more gold than 2023) – 27.1%
- Disappointing overall, illness was preventable – 16.4%
- Not great, but give new leadership time – 7.0%
- Poor relay management – 5.5%
There was a lot of noise surrounding the American team at the 2025 World Championships, from the illness that began affecting swimmers at their staging camp, to the lack of medals produced by the men’s team, some questionable relay decisions, and star names coming in and out of the meet as the stomach bug lingered on.
Things only got louder as the meet came to a close, as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Rowdy Gaines all publicly criticized the team’s performance and the overall lack of direction from USA Swimming, and things haven’t quieted down since.
Looking strictly at the performance in the pool, we asked SwimSwam readers what their biggest takeaway was from the American team in Singapore, and the top selection by a wide margin was the lack of hardware produced by the men’s team.
Without a bona fide star like Phelps, Lochte, or Caeleb Dressel, the U.S. men have struggled to produce medals, especially gold ones, at the last few major international meets.
At the 2022 World Championships, the American men won seven gold medals, including Dressel claiming the 50 fly and helping the 4×100 free relay to victory before leaving the meet early.
Then, in his absence at the 2023 Worlds, the men only managed three gold medals (Hunter Armstrong – 50 back, Ryan Murphy – 100 back, 4×100 medley relay), though they still earned 17 total.
At the Olympics, they only managed one individual gold medal, coming from Bobby Finke in the 1500 free, while they also topped the 4×100 free relay and added seven additional medals (with three fewer events than Worlds).
At the 2025 World Championships, the numbers continued to dwindle, as Luca Urlando was the lone male gold medalist in the 200 fly, and they only won seven more medals, including their best relay finish being bronze (4×100 free and 4×100 medley), while they missed the Worlds podium in the 4×200 free relay for the first time since 1998 (also having missed it at the Tokyo Olympics).
This marked the first time the U.S. men didn’t win a relay title at the World Championships since Australia swept all three golds in 2001.
The most glaring holes for the U.S. men were in backstroke and breaststroke, which were previously fairly successful with Ryan Murphy, Hunter Armstrong and Nic Fink churning out medals at recent championships. However, with those three out of the mix this year, those were obvious weaknesses, and that came to light on the medley relay (they also only had three finalists across six back and breast events).
Outside circumstances certainly played a role, but amidst all of the discourse about the American team in Singapore, the men’s team’s lack of hardware stood out the most to SwimSwam readers.
Finishing a clear 2nd in the poll was the way the team performed down the stretch of the meet, particularly on the women’s side, as they battled their way to the top of the medal table with nine gold medals.
In fact, despite numerous withdrawals from medal contenders, such as Torri Huske (100 fly) and Gretchen Walsh (100 free), the U.S. women won a medal in every event but three, the 50 free, 50 breast and 400 IM, all of which took place on the final night, and they still had respective 4th, 5th and 5th-place finishes in each.
After Meg Harris won gold in the women’s 50 free to give Australia eight gold medals matching the U.S. tally on the final night of competition, the U.S. women clinched the medal table when Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Walsh and Huske broke the world record to win gold in the 4×100 medley relay.
And despite the illness and all of the criticism that came their way, the American team still won two more gold medals than they did in 2023.
Among the other options, 16.4% said the performance was disappointing overall and that the illness that hampered their results was likely preventable, while 7% said not great, but give the new leadership, specifically new National Team Director Greg Meehan, time. Despite a lot of discourse around the relay lineup decisions, particularly when the U.S. missed the final of the mixed 4×100 medley, “poor relay management” only received 5.5% of votes.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: What are your thoughts on the qualification process for the 2026 Pan Pacs?
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The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
I take issue with this, the fact the women’s outstanding performance wasn’t even an option in the poll. They broke a world record and carried the team to outperform 2023. It was mentioned in the article but that’s now how the poll was phrased. As if the medals earned by women don’t count?
In ways I know, we have work to do
It’s Meehan time folks, we know what to do!
Scream and shout, and DANCE! It’s boogie time
USA swimming is BACK, and time to shine we will do!
Send!!
Obviously the trials meet is the US’s biggest meet on home soil (because they’re too cheap to host a world championships) so it would probably never change, but the idea that every meet matters because people are chasing times to get on the team rather than 1 meet to get it right makes things a lot more exciting
4th & 5th place finishes don’t cut it anymore.