Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte Disappointed in American Performance at Worlds, Share Gravestone Picture on Instagram
The American team has gone through considerable struggles at this week’s World Championships. Although the group leads the overall medal table (20) and is tied for the most golds (five), most swimmers have fallen short of matching their efforts from U.S. Nationals. That can be attributed, at least in part, to a stomach illness that has stricken most of the team since the end of its training camp, but that is not a sufficient excuse for two of history’s best swimmers.
Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte have weighed in with an Instagram story. Lochte originally posted an image, seemingly generated by AI, showing a gravestone and attendees dressed in black as if attending a funeral. The grave reads: “In Loving Memory of United States Swimming,” and includes a made-up quote, “They set the bar high — until they stopped reading for it.”
Lochte added a comment, “Call it a funeral, or call it a fresh start. We’ve got three years,” noting the time remaining until the the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. He wrote, “LFG” next to a photo of an American flag. Phelps added, “Is this the wake up call USA swimming needed? Let’s find out…..”
The opinions of Phelps and Lochte carry significant weight considering they are the most decorated male athletes in the history of the World Aquatics Championships. Both men competed at the meet six times, with Phelps winning 26 gold medals and 33 total medals while Lochte had 18 golds amid 27 podium-worthy performances. They began the week as the winningest swimmers in history before Katie Ledecky moved ahead of Lochte for second place.
The disappointing results from the American team in Singapore have included no gold medals through the first five relays of the meet, with the team achieving two silver, one bronze and one fourth-place finish while missing the final of the mixed 400 medley relay.
A miscalculated lineup led to the mixed relay setback, while Friday’s result in the men’s 800 free relay might have been more frustrating. Adding up the 200 free times from U.S. Nationals for the four American swimmers produces a mark more than a second quicker than Great Britain’s winning time. Subtracting time for relay starts, the American group was projected to be in contention to challenge a 15-year-old world record, but the group instead ended up one-third of a second out of medal contention.
Illness has forced four U.S. swimmers to withdraw from events entirely: Torri Huske in the 100 butterfly (in which she was the Olympic gold medalist last year), Claire Weinstein in the 400 freestyle, Gretchen Walsh in the 100 freestyle and Josh Matheny in the 200 breaststroke. Walsh was also forced off the U.S. women’s 400 free relay squad when her condition worsened, and Carson Foster was scratched from the 200 IM final.
Because of these poor results, the American team will need a big finish to the meet to match or exceed its 28-medal total from last year’s Paris Olympics, which was the lowest U.S. output at the Games in 20 years. The group will still win the overall medal count, but it’s not clear if there will be enough first-place finishes to match or exceed Australia in the number of golds.
