Paris Olympics 2024: Swimming Australia in crisis as CEO Eugenie Buckley quits

Just over a year out from the Paris Olympics, Australian Swimming has been thrown into crisis. Here is the inside story of how it happened.

Swimming Australia will be without a CEO 15 months out from the Paris Olympics

Swimming Australia is on the hunt for a new leader to help steer the troubled sport back to calmer waters after Eugenie Buckley suddenly quit as chief executive.

Swimming Australia confirmed Buckley’s resignation in a carefully worded statement on Friday, thanking her for her contribution during a turbulent 18-month reign that left the sport on the brink of mutiny.

Swimming Australia did not elaborate on why Buckley departed so abruptly but highly-placed sources said her exit coincided with the completion of a scathing report into the way the sport was being run.

It’s understood that senior board members had concerns after reading the reports from an independent review that was triggered after a News Corp investigation exposed serious problems with the sport.

Sources said Buckley was called to a secret meeting with Swimming Australia solicitors on Wednesday before tendering her resignation the following day.

Eugenie Buckley has left Swimming Australia.

Key member organisations will be given an abridged summary of the review but the full report has been placed under lock and key and under strict orders never to be released.

Swimming Australia president Michelle Gallen praised Buckley for her work.

“Eugenie has steered the organisation through the significant challenges of a corporate restructure and improving our financial position,” Gallen said.

“She leaves us in a strong position to move forward, with a clear strategic direction to 2032 to build performance, pathways, participation and sustainability.”

Steve Newman was appointed as acting CEO until a permanent replacement is found.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources said Swimming Australia had unsuccessfully tried to avert any fallout from the independent review by instructing hand-picked staff what to say.

But the investigators surprised them by speaking to other staff members, who are believed to have blown the whistle on the depth of problems within the organisation.

Buckley is just the latest high-profile departure from Swimming Australia, which has been plagued by administrative turmoil for years.

Buckley took over from Alex Baumann, who quit after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, just a year after he replaced Leigh Russell, who resigned in 2020.

The presidency has also changed frequently, with Gallen only moving into the job last year after Tracy Stockwell was voted out in a boardroom coup.

Stockwell’s predecessor, Kieren Perkins replaced John Bertrand as president in late 2020 but announced just a year later he was stepping down.

Buckley was previously in charge of Netball Queensland.

She was hired initially by Swimming Australia for an interim period then given the full time role on January 1 last year despite some board members apparently unaware she was being sued by a director at her former job.

It wasn’t long until she fell out with other swimming administrators, as well as coaches, swimmers and even parents after she dropped a bombshell by slashing participation growth funding.

Exasperated stakeholders finally ran out of patience and called for a face-to-face meeting with Buckley during last year’s short-course world championships in Melbourne.

It was hugely embarrassing for Swimming Australia to air its dirty laundry in front of the entire swimming world but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

A special investigation by News Corp showed the organisation was facing a pending $10 million lawsuit that could bankrupt the sport, had needed a $9 million bailout from the Victorian Government to host the world titles and questions were being asked over potential conflicts of interest and transparency.

Swimming Australia’s own board members had no idea Melbourne was even considering making a pitch for the event until they told it was already signed and sealed.

The senior management team for the event included Buckley and two colleagues from a private sports consulting company she is involved with but Government sources said Visit Victoria was comfortable there were no conflicts of interests.