The criticism is mainly directed at the former national team captain and swimming jump icon Ulrika Knape Lindberg, who led the sport for 16 years.

In the autumn, she left her official assignments in the union.

Ulrika Sandmark is the sports director of the swimming association with overall responsibility for all swimming sports.

She herself comes from the swimming world and was for many years the national captain of the national swimming team, before she took on her new role after the Olympics in Tokyo last year. 

She says that she was therefore not aware of the problems highlighted in the survey.   

- I have not worked with swimming before, but came in as sports director during the autumn.

So I have not really known about these pieces, she says.  

What is your experience of Ulrika Knape Lindberg's leadership ability?  

- I do not want to comment on it like this.

But from the outside when I worked as the national captain in swimming, we had a very good relationship.

Sources: The problems have been felt for many years

According to sources to SVT Sport, with good insight into the swimming association, it has been known in the association board for many years that there has been dissatisfaction with the leadership in the swimming jump - without it having led to measures.  

- It is no secret that this is about Knape Lindberg.

This is something that has come up within the swimming association for many years.

That there has been criticism of training methods and the way to make selections, says a source.  

SVT Sport has also received three anonymous emails that were sent to the swimming association in 2017 and alerted about the situation already five years ago.

One of the emails describes that the sport has been governed by "management by fear" by the national team captain, who at the time was Ulrika Knape Lindberg.  

“Everyone around is afraid to make mistakes, say wrong, think wrong, be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ruler techniques such as manipulation, control, surveillance, direct and indirect threats, exclusion, selection, social exclusion, selective information are just a few examples of how the climate is shaped, ”it says, among other things. 

E-mail appeals for help: "Many suffer"

Another of the email writers is appealing for help from the swimming association.  

"The reason why I choose to write is because many coaches and swimmers are suffering right now and it is in my eyes due to poor leadership from the national team (…) I ask you to bring this to RF for a review!"  

Ulla Gustavsson was chairman of the swimming association in 2017. She remembers the email and says that she reacted to the content and raised it within the association.  

- As chairman, I raised this with the head of the union and the board more than once.

One of the members was finally commissioned to conduct an investigation.

I realized that I was alone in wanting to get to the bottom of the problems and try to solve them.

I and other board members simply did not have the same picture of the extent and seriousness of the problems, says Ulla Gustavsson.    

What happened to the investigation?   

 - The investigation was presented and the conclusion of it, as I remember it, was that we did not need to take any concrete measures.

In any case, I suggested that we start a whistleblower function, but I did not hear about it. 

The head of the union believes that the board acted

Mikael Jansson has been head of the swimming association since 2016. He believes that it can be difficult to act on anonymous emails, but that they took the information seriously.  

- That there were people who felt that there was no full transparency and openness was something we worked with. 

Mikael Jansson points out that they have taken a number of measures, including the fact that in the autumn they appointed Ulrika Sandmark as overall sports director for all swimming sports and has reviewed their routines linked to children's sports and committees.   

- This is something we have to work on in the future, nothing you solve in one afternoon. 

We also let Ulrika Sandmark take part in one of the anonymous emails from 2017: 

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Ulrika Sandmark: "No, it was not so nice reading"

Almost two months have passed since the swimming association's internal investigation of the swimming jump was completed.

A total of 60 coaches were interviewed, but so far only a few people have read the results. 

 Will the coaches get to know the answers?   

- I think the most important thing now is how we handle what we have found out and how we work forward.

And that we should have contact with each of those involved.

That you should be able to feel safe going forward.

And want to join.

That is what we will work for, says Ulrika Sandmark. 

Neither coaches nor the media have read the survey

SVT Sport has asked to read the survey, but receives the answer from Ulrika Sandmark that it should be seen as part of a larger action plan and will be dealt with internally. 

- This is a working document so we must know where to put our energy, our focus.

It is the same as we have done in other swimming sports and it is something that is for us, that we should be able to work with.

In the autumn, we will probably be able to tell more and be clearer in our communication.  

Is it not the case that you are trying to tone down the problems then by not letting the leaders or the media read this survey?  

- I really hope not.

As I said before: high ceilings, transparency and communication are what we work for, says Ulrika Sandmark.