USA Swimming Board Chair Natalie Coughlin to Step Down
USA Swimming Board of Directors chairperson Natalie Coughlin announced on Thursday that she is stepping down, effective early November.
Coughlin has been on the board since 2016 in various capacities. She was elected vice-chair in 2023 and later elevated to chair. Among her duties was navigating the organization through a tumultuous transition of CEOs. She served on task forces that hired both new national team managing director Greg Meehan in April 2024 and CEO Kevin Ring in September.
Coughlin, who has served as a swim parent as well as 12-time Olympic medalist, will remain on the National Team Steering Committee. Her seat on the board will be filled by an athlete voted on the Athlete Advisory Council, and the full board will elect a new chairperson in the coming weeks.
“The opportunity to serve USA Swimming and our community has been an incredible honor for me,” Coughlin said in a press release. “I first joined the USA Swimming family as an age group swimmer, rose through the sport as a competitive athlete, and ultimately became a long-time member of the National Team. I volunteered for USA Swimming out of immense gratitude for what the sport has done for my life. I wanted to share that knowledge as a contribution back to the sport and actively support its progression moving forward. I’m deeply proud of the work the Board has done in service to all of our athletes, coaches, clubs, and volunteers. I have complete confidence in Kevin Ring’s vision for the future of USA Swimming and Greg Meehan’s leadership of the National Team, and I believe this is the right moment in time for me to step aside. While I will continue to volunteer and support the swimming community, I am excited to focus on my family and being a swim mom to my two young kids.”
Coughlin’s tenure on the board includes navigating the stoppage of the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 by a year. The organization also saw the 2028 Olympics awarded to Los Angeles in that time, while also organizing the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium, a first-of-its-kind venture that set global attendance and revenue records for a swim meet.
Coughlin was instrumental in USA Swimming’s change of eras, with Tim Hinchey stepping down as CEO after the Paris Olympics in 2024. It took more than a year and two interim CEOs to hire a replacement.
“Natalie has been an invaluable leader and ambassador for USA Swimming,” Ring said. “Her steady guidance, collaborative spirit, and passion for athlete development have helped strengthen the organization’s governance and long-term strategy. The principles she helped establish will continue to guide the Board and our entire community as we enter this next critical chapter for the sport.”
Coughlin swam at three Olympics. The International Swimming Hall of Famer won gold in the 100 backstroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics plus 800 free relay gold in Athens. She’s a businesswoman away from her volunteer duties, among her projects a winery in her native California.
