Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps, known as the most successful Olympian of all time, expressed his disappointment with American swimmers’ performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Phelps stated that he was highly “disappointed” with Team USA in the Paris swimming competitions, adding that only some athletes managed to come up with appreciable swims.
The distinguished athlete, who won 23 Olympic golds, including eight golds in the 2008 Beijing Olympics alone, has always suggested that the rest of the world is catching up with the United States as they try to improve their standings in global swimming events.
The rapidly evolving competitive swimming environment means that American swimmers have to change their strategies and prepare better to remain relevant in the sport, Phelps added.
The male swimmers on Team USA won only one individual gold this year, their worst performance since the 1956 Olympics.
Bobby Finke was the only swimmer who helped the US avoid utter embarrassment as he broke the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle swim to finish first on the podium.
Phelps was highly impressed by Finke’s performance and revealed that he was having chills while even talking about such a record-shattering performance. He wished that American swimmers would redeem themselves in 2028 in front of the home crowd and regain the lost American glory in swimming.
Many veteran American swimmers faced setbacks this year as young Canadian and Australian athletes rose to the occasion and finished higher than them.
Caeleb Dressel was one of the most notable failures as he did not win any individual medal, even in the 100-meter butterfly and 50-meter freestyle swims, where he won the golds in Tokyo.
Despite poor individual performances, Team USA performed comparatively well in team events, winning 8 swimming golds and 28 swimming medals overall.
On the women’s team, Katie Ledecky was the standout performer. She won two golds, one silver, and one bronze and became the most decorated female Olympic swimmer in history. Ledecky placed first in both 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle swims and became the third athlete to win an Olympic event for the fourth consecutive time.
