With Olympics coming, US swimming and track look for rebound – Salon

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The buzz in U.S. Olympic circles is about bringing the 2024 Games to Los Angeles.

A more urgent matter: Bringing home the most medals from next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

That may not be a sure thing, especially considering the struggles of the U.S. swimming and track teams this summer.

Track and swimming combined for 53 percent of the country’s 407 medals over the last four Olympics, each of which ended with the United States on top of the medals table. But at this year’s world championships, swimmers took home 21 medals in Olympic events. That’s four fewer than they did in 2011, the year before the London Games. The track team took home only 18, seven fewer than four years ago.

“There’s always a level of anxiety,” said Chuck Wielgus, the executive director of USA Swimming since 1997. “I’d say the level of anxiety is probably higher this time around than any time I’ve been executive director. But there have never been more opportunities for people to step up and make an impact on the Olympic team.”

There are reasons for optimism, starting with the fact that the United States traditionally brings the deepest pool of athletes to the Olympics in both these sports. Also, the swimming results came without the presence of 22-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps, who was banned from worlds because of his arrest on drunken-driving charges. He competed the same week at U.S. nationals and posted three times that would have won gold at worlds.

But there were also some red flags waving at the meets in Russia (swimming) and China (track).

Missy Franklin didn’t win any individual gold medals at worlds, after taking three in 2013. It could be attributed to the grind of her recently completed college season, though she now has more competition in the 200 free with teammate Katie Ledecky, the star of the world championships, dropping down to that distance. Also, relay races that used to almost automatically go in the U.S. win column are now being more hotly contested by countries putting more resources into winning the team events.

Larry Probst, the chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said the board talked about the results at their quarterly meeting Friday.