“I don't think that we should point fingers”- Regan Smith weighs in on Michael Phelps' letter calling for change in USA swimming

Regan Smith recently made her feelings known about Michael Phelps' letter advocating for changes in the leadership of the USA swimming team. The controversy started while the World Aquatics Championships 2025 was underway.

Phelps and Ryan Lochte showcased their concern about the lack of leadership in USA swimming after witnessing a drop in the team's performance at the World Championships. It started with Lochte sharing a meme of a gravestone that had the inscription:

"IN LOVING MEMORY OF UNITED STATES SWIMMING 1980 – 2025 Aged 45. ‘They set the bar high – until they stopped reaching for it.’"

This was echoed by Phelps, who reshared this post and asked whether it was a 'wake up call' for USA swimming. Shortly after this, the former swimmer penned a letter outlining his frustrations with the current state of the team, stating the need to bring a change in the leadership quality of the team.

Days after this controversy, Smith made an appearance on the SwimSwam podcast, where she made her feelings known the letter, stating that she agrees with Phelps; however, she said that with the letter, he should have also shared some recommendations to bring in the required changes. (19:50 onwards)

"The other thing I wanted to mention with Phelps' and Rowdy's letter, like, completely agree with that there does need to be change, but I also did want to mention, like, I wish that they perhaps, because I have so much experience in the sport, so I wish that they had some recommendations as to what change could be made, because I don't know what change should be made," said Regan Smith.

She added:

"It's like, I might have ideas, and I agree that there should be change, but I feel like I haven't been very vocal about it, because I don't think that we should point fingers and say, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong.You know, the system is a mess, without trying to offer some form of like, hey, here are some ideas of specifically what we could do to make things better. And if they have ideas behind the scenes that they just haven't shared, maybe because as you were stating Mel, like they've been, you know, kind of put in tough positions by the organization, then I completely understand it. But I do feel like morally, there's some confusion with like, just pointing fingers, but then not offering."

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Regan Smith shared a strong message after achieving a remarkable feat amid criticism from Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte

While Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte criticized the performances of Team USA amid the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, the women's team delivered a stellar performance in the women's 4x100m medley relay. The team, including Kate Douglass, Regan Smith, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske, clinched the gold medal in the event after clocking a world record of 3:49.34, besting Australia and Canada, who claimed the second and third positions, respectively.

Shortly after this performance, Smith shared a bunch of pictures from the team's staunch win in the 4x100m medley relay, and along with this, she penned a strong message in the caption, seemingly directed towards Phelps and Lochte's comments on USA Swimming. It read:

"USA Swimming is alive and well. 🇺🇸 WR x 🥇 Bye Singapore I 🩷 you!!" wrote Regan Smith.

The World Aquatics Swimming Championships commenced on July 27 and continued till August 3, 2025, at the World Aquatics Championships Arena in Singapore. It saw Regan Smith nab a total of five medals, including one gold and four silver.