Greg Meehan’s Plan For USA Swimming And The Street To LA 2028

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 23: Greg Meehan of the Stanford Cardinals celebrates a victory on the 2019 Division I Women’s Swimming Championships on March 23, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

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As Greg Meehan displays on the 2025 World Championships in Singapore and appears forward to Los Angeles 2028, his message is one among optimism and a drive towards future success. Meehan was appointed USA Swimming’s National Team Managing Director in the spring of 2025, bringing years of expertise teaching on the highest ranges of the game.

Meehan has coached for USA Swimming since 2007, serving as Olympic Women’s Head Coach in Tokyo 2020, assistant coach in Rio 2016 and Paris 2024 and main the U.S. ladies on the 2017 and 2019 World Championships whereas helping at different main worldwide meets.

Meehan spent 13 seasons as Stanford University’s Paul A. Violich Director of Women’s Swimming, guiding this system to seven Pac-12 titles and three consecutive NCAA nationwide championships from 2017 to 2019. During that point, he coached athletes together with Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Torri Huske and was acknowledged thrice as NCAA Coach of the Year.

Now, as National Team Managing Director, Meehan helps form the tradition, improvement pathways and high-performance technique for Team USA. From tactical steerage and technical talent improvement to analytics, funding and athlete help, he works to make sure each coach and swimmer has the sources wanted to thrive, all whereas maintaining a gentle deal with the 2028 Olympics.

Lessons From Singapore

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – AUGUST 02: Jack Alexy, Patrick Sammon, Kate Douglass and Torri Huske of Team United States are raect after successful gold and setting a brand new a brand new world report of three:18.48 after competing within the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Final on day 23 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships at World Aquatics Championships Arena on August 02, 2025 in Singapore. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

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As the 2025 World Championships approached, Meehan was assured in Team USA’s means to carry out effectively. The U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, served because the qualifying meet for the World Championship roster, and performances at nationals exceeded his expectations, particularly on condition that it was the primary 12 months of the Olympic quad, a interval that always sees a slight lull. Nonetheless, it was a quick meet.

Despite the challenges of illness that affected many on the roster throughout the World Championships, Team USA got here motivated and prepared. “Unless you were on the ground there, it’s hard to fully grasp how sick and the number of people who were sick,” Meehan stated. “The fact that we, you know, did what we did is a testament to our staff and athletes on just staying resilient and perseverance. It could have gone sideways, and it didn’t.”

Perseverance and toughness stood out in Singapore, as did management, particularly from youthful athletes starting to maneuver into that subsequent part of their careers, which Meehan expects will positively affect Team USA over the subsequent three years. He additionally recognized technical areas, similar to relays, underwater work and approaches to turns, the place the group could make enhancements.

Building Toward 2028

As Team USA seems to be towards the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, individualized periods might be held with all 121 nationwide group athletes to listen to their objectives and share the group’s plan for reaching them.

Meehan talked about Regan Smith as one among these athletes and stated, “When we are watching Regan, we are obviously going to evaluate from a coach’s lens but also, I want to look through Regan’s lens to know what she is thinking about and, you know, does she like to watch race video? Does she like to look at race stats? What skills is she working on? And the better we understand that, the more information we have to make that one-tenth difference, two-tenths-of-a-second difference. That’s the short-term vision we think is going to impact our long-term in terms of LA. It’s just trying to be better at each step along the way.”

The focus is on regular enchancment from 2025 to 2026, constructing towards the World Championships in 2027 and the Olympics in 2028, with communication and transparency central to the strategy. “Not everyone has to agree with each piece of our vision, but people are more apt to get on board when they at least know what the plan is,” he says. Building partnerships with each athletes and coaches is vital as a result of, as he places it, “At the end of the day, we all want the same thing, right? And that’s to swim fast and win the Olympic Games.”

Beyond reflecting on performances and strengthening partnerships with athletes and coaches, Meehan additionally emphasizes group tradition. To foster unity, USA Swimming held an onboarding occasion in Colorado Springs, giving athletes time collectively in a noncompetitive setting. His purpose is for each athlete to really feel related to one thing bigger than themselves, recognizing that carrying the celebs and stripes represents not solely the group but in addition a legacy that extends past particular person competitors.

Supporting Athlete Well-Being And Looking Ahead

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – MARCH 03: Coach Greg Meehan talks with Katie Ledecky after the Women’s 1500 Meter Freestyle Final on Day 1 of the TYR Pro Swim Series at San Antonio on March 03, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

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When it involves psychological well being, Meehan says the purpose is connecting athletes with the appropriate sources. The nationwide group has a supervisor of psychological well being and entry to U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee sources, with a second devoted skilled becoming a member of in November. A brand new director of medical providers may even oversee bodily and psychological well being help.

When it involves the longer term, Meehan is energized by the expertise and potential coming by means of Team USA in addition to the leadership under new CEO Kevin Ring. “I think about what we can do in LA, and we’re going to have some huge goals. They’re not expectations—they’re goals,” Meehan stated. With a powerful core of athletes and workers, he’s enthusiastic about what the group can obtain in LA and the progress they’ll make collectively.