Gilbert out as USA Triathlon executive director

Less than two years after ripping the U.S. Olympic Committee for its leadership turnover, Skip Gilbert is out as executive director of USA Triathlon, an abrupt departure that leaves Colorado Springs-based national governing bodies without their most vocal leader.

USA Triathlon announced Monday that Gilbert had left the NGB’s top post, declining to specify whether the exit was a resignation or a termination, and spokesman Chuck Menke wouldn’t provide details surrounding the move. Gilbert didn’t return a phone message.

Tim Yount, the senior vice president for sport development of USA Triathlon, will serve as acting executive director – a role he had for six months in 2004 after the resignation of Steven Locke, now USA Field Hockey’s executive director – while a search committee seeks a fulltime replacement for Gilbert, USA Triathlon president Brian Harrington said.

“We thank Skip Gilbert for his years of service to triathlon, during which the sport grew to unprecedented popularity in the United States and around the world,” Harrington said in a statement. Spokesman Patrick Sandusky said the USOC had no comment on Gilbert.

A former North American Soccer League goalkeeper, Gilbert, 50, presumably will cut his ties as head of the NGB council and chairman of the Association of Chief Executives for Sport – roles he used in spearheading an effort to have Stephanie Streeter ousted as chief executive officer of the USOC. Scott Blackmun replaced Streeter in January.

Gilbert was very critical of Streeter, who succeeded well-liked former Olympic wrestler Jim Scherr, with a base salary of $560,000 – about $132,000 more than Scherr made. He directed a 63-question ACES survey that produced a scathing review of Streeter and also called into question the performance of chairman Larry Probst.

In 5 ½ years under Gilbert, USA Triathlon’s bottom line ballooned from $2.7 million to $6.8 million and its membership skyrocketed from 58,073 to an all-time high 134,942 as of the end of June. The NGB also enjoyed a rise in sponsorships and an expansion in staff to about 50 employees, and it plans to move into new offices in the Springs on Sept. 15.

Last year, Gilbert’s total compensation was $243,096, an increase of $12,188 from 2008, according to USA Triathlon’s income tax returns. A possible successor to Gilbert, Yount made $173,568 last year, which was $15,095 more than he collected in 2008.

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