Immerse yourself in an extraordinary episode of The Business of Sport Podcast featuring Tim Hinchey III, the President and CEO of USA Swimming and the USA Swimming Foundation! 🏊♂️🏅 Hear firsthand about the exciting plans for the upcoming USA Olympic Swimming Trials and how USA Swimming is aiming for new heights.
🔊 Tim on hosting the USA Olympic Swimming Trials inside an NFL stadium: “We are really excited. This year it’s a bit special. We have previously held four consecutive Olympic Swimming Trials in a Basketball Court and sold them out, but this time around, we are going a bit bigger. We are using the NFL Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, The Lucas Oil Stadium, and we are going to try and set a world record attendance on the first night on June 15th, which we think is about 16,000 for a global swim meet. What is also great is that in 1924, Indianapolis hosted the first Olympic Swim Trials and also sent those athletes to Paris, so we are doing it a hundred years later, and that is going to be really exciting for us.”
🔊 Tim on selling swimming to a new audience: “We are going to have nine days, on NBC, one of our largest broadcast partners, in Prime Time for nine consecutive nights. We need to take advantage of that. They are going to talk about these World-Class athletes, and it’s my job to make sure those stories get out to that audience and the spotlight goes on these amazing Women and Men who are in a traditionally amateur sport, but give them the spotlight that they really deserve. USA Swimming hasn’t lost a major international competition in over sixty years, so there’s a lot riding on this. Hopefully, telling the stories of these swimmers will hopefully inspire the next class of swimmers and keep that ‘pipeline’ full. So talent development is a big part of this as well.”
🔊 Tim on leadership role models: “One of the first big, huge, personalities that I was very fortunate to have several one-on-one experiences with, was the NBA Basketball Commissioner, David Stern. Watching what David did for the NBA, from the 1980’s to where it is today, arguably, one of the most profitable, diverse, successful, athletic organisations globally, and to spend time with a leader like that, is something I will never forget. …the times he put his arm around me, the times he put his finger in my chest, and grabbing those Golden Nuggets out of what he did was super inspiring.”
🌟 Don’t miss this episode where Tim shares his insights and excitement about the future of USA Swimming!
