Tokyo Olympics: Swimming Australia boss Leigh Russell steps down

In a move that has shocked the sport, Swimming Australia’s CEO has announced she is stepping down for the role.

The head of Swimming Australia has announced she’s quitting next month, continuing the flood of leaders leaving Australia’s most successful Olympic sport.

In a surprise announcement, less than a year before the postponed Tokyo Olympics, chief executive Leigh Russell has told the board she will be stepping down at the end of November.

“With the revised timelines pushing Tokyo out by a year, meaning an immediate kick off post games to preparations for Paris, I felt it was in the best interests of the organisation and the sport to allow a new CEO to take the reins now,” Russell said.

“I’m proud of what has been achieved over the past three years and I feel Swimming Australia is now in the strongest position it can be going into Tokyo and Paris.”

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Leigh Russell is stepping down. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian

Swimming Australia’s deputy board chairperson, Tracy Stockwell, said an interim CEO would be appointed while the board begins the search for a new boss.

“As Australia’s number one Olympic sport, we are well placed going into a disrupted but highly anticipated Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympics in 2021 and then on to the 2024 Games,” Stockwell said.

“The board and Leigh agreed that the revised timing of the Tokyo Games means that now is the right time to find a new CEO with the passion and drive to lead the sport into the future.

“Leigh’s leadership and commitment to high-performance and integrity has driven major changes in the organisation and has set Swimming Australia up for success both in the pool and out of it.

“As one of the few female sports leaders in the country, Leigh has championed inclusion and a culture of high-performance, support, mentorship and leadership that is underpinned by strong values.”

Russell’s shock departure comes just a week after Swimming Australia president John Bertrand departed after seven years at the helm. His replacement has yet to be decided.

John Bertrand has also stood down. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Less than five months ago, Australia’s head coach Jacco Verhaeren also stepped down, announcing he was returning to Europe for family reasons after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed until 2021.

Swimming Australia has undergone massive cultural changes in recent years after the “toxic culture” of the sport was exposed during the 2012 London Olympics with Russell among the key drivers of the clean up.

But she came under fire herself in 2019 after it was revealed Australia’s Shayna Jack had tested positive to a banned substance after Mack Horton’s podium protest at Sun Yang’s participation at the world championships.

Accused of double standards, Russell bore the brunt of the criticism aimed at Swimming Australia but has always maintained that the right protocols were followed when the team did not disclose the real reason behind Jack’s mysterious decision to leave the team - saying at the time it was for “personal reasons”.

The global pandemic has only added to the turbulence in the sport, with Russell warning that tough decisions about cost-cutting were likely.

Earlier this month, the Seven Network announced it was terminating its deal to broadcast swimming in Australia after the trials for the Olympics and Paralympics were postponed.