Hunter Armstrong Podcast: Clean at the Enhanced Games and Betting on LA2028

GMM by @SwimOutletGear

In this GMM podcast episode, Hunter Armstrong opens up about the year after Paris, and it’s not the story most people expect.

Fresh off Olympic gold and silver in 2024, Hunter assumed momentum would carry him forward. Instead, he lost his top sponsor. The financial runway tightened. Training didn’t get cheaper. And 2025 became a grind.
At this point in swimming history, Olympic gold does not equal financial security. Now Hunter’s made a decision that’s making headlines on SwimSwam.

Hunter will compete at the upcoming Enhanced Games, but he’s doing it clean. To be clear, Hunter will not being be geared-up using performance-enhancing drugs. He is remaining in the drug testing pool, and he’s betting on transparency, compliance, and the letter of the rules.

Prize money from the Enhanced Games could help fund his training through the LA 2028 Olympic cycle. That’s Hunter’s calculus, but here’s the tension.
Hunter does not have absolute clarity on how World Aquatics will interpret its bylaws. He’s read them. He believes participation without doping keeps him eligible. Yet the federation could view participation itself as grounds for sanction.

In this conversation, Hunter walks through:

--The financial reality of life after Olympic gold
--The shock of losing sponsorship
--What 2025 looked like behind the scenes
--Why he believes competing clean matters
--How he’s protecting his eligibility
--And what happens if World Aquatics disagrees

Hunter knows these controversial waters, but he feels like his back is against the wall.

If I missed any questions in the podcast, please drop them in the comments.

Many thanks to @SwimOutletTV for their 14 year partnership and support of this swimming news and media.

Swimming news courtesy of SwimSwam.com (swimswam.com)

Click here to listen and
open.spotify.com/show/3UGrNWoMK0RqWZCMbOwUPO

Click here to listen and
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fish-out-of-water-the-swimswam-podcast/id1467108547

Click here to listen and
swimswam.podbean.com

Click here to listen and
podcasts.google.com

Follow SwimSwam on:
Facebook: facebook.com/swimswamnews
Twitter: twitter.com/swimswamnews
Instagram: instagram.com/swimswamnews