USA Swimming, CEO Tim Hinchey Parting Ways

Tim Hinchey will leave USA Swimming after seven years as chief executive officer in which the national governing body made strides on the business side and established new programs to counter sex abuse in the sport.

USA Swimming Chief Operating Officer Shana Ferguson will take over as chief executive officer on an interim basis. Hinchey’s contract was through 2025. USA Swimming announced the moves on Thursday night; Sports Illustrated was the first to report such moves were about to be made.

“It has been a remarkable opportunity to lead the sport I have loved since my youth,” Hinchey said. “I am confident that the future of the organization is bright and will continue to be best in class among the National Governing Bodies and a leader on the world stage.”

Hinchey got credit for helping execute the idea of holding the Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis — an innovation that laid the groundwork for a similar format at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, where swimming will take place in SoFi Stadium.

“Tim’s innovative vision to conduct the Olympic Trials in a football stadium was a bold and groundbreaking move that brought the sport to a broader audience, creating unforgettable experiences for swimmers, coaches, officials, and spectators alike,” USA Swimming Board Chair Chris Brearton said. “This initiative highlighted his ability to think beyond conventional boundaries and his commitment to making swimming accessible and exciting for all.”

A big part of Hinchey’s mandate when he took over in 2017 was to pull the organization out of a crisis that came from its handling of sex-abuse cases involving dozens of coaches and swimmers. The USA Swimming board said during his tenure “USA Swimming’s Safe Sport program has become preeminent among youth sports and has fortified the organization’s commitment to keeping athletes first.”

At the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris, Team USA edged Australia of the most gold medals of the swimming competition on the final day and led the overall medal count. Hinchey in an interview with SportsTravel at the end of the Games pointed to the challenges that come with maintaining a spot atop the medal count in the sport.

“I think we’re going to do a graphic with our team and have the head shots of them when they were kids at the USA Swimming clubs they were with, the current club you’re with and show that Olympic connection,” he said. “Then let’s do one for U.S.A. swimmers that are on club teams, like, let’s say (Canada’s) Summer McIntosh, who trains with the Sarasota Sharks, who is a 17 year old, lives in Sarasota, trains in Sarasota, and there’s three gold medals that could be part of our tally at some point, right? And then, let’s see, take the college athletes that we train around the world and I can start with Leon Marchand and Hubert Kos, as an example, on what gold medals do American coaches produce for the globe’s athletes.

“So it’s a Catch 22 in that, of course, we want to win, I don’t mind the target on our back, we want to be the world’s best and historically we are. We want to maintain that and we’ll want to get better in some ways. But at the same time, I think it’s great for swimming to see what our coaches and American coaches have done to bring other athletes forward. And I think it’s great for the Olympics. If we’re going to want to be a sport that has high value and high demand.”

While the U.S. won the most medals in the swimming competition, it was the fewest golds since 1988 and fewest total medals since 2004.

“I am excited and appreciate the Board’s confidence in my assuming this role and stand ready to work with the Board and our membership to continue to drive our sport forward,” Ferguson said.