Paris Olympics: The Fingerprints of Bob Bowman Detected All Over Games
For the sixth straight Olympics, Bob Bowman sported red, white and blue gear on deck. But after previously only representing the United States, it happened to be in support of the home nation’s tricolor at the Paris La Défense Arena, coaching France’s biggest star of the Games in any sport.
What the American found in Paris was something vaster, something befitting the aspirations of a coach whose reputation has long since been cemented by mentoring the greatest swimmer in history. The United States of Bob Bowman, were it so constructed out of the pupils he’s overseen at Arizona State and now the University of Texas, would’ve walked away from the Paris Olympics as the story of the pool competition.
Led by Leon Marchand’s four gold medals, freed of much of the baggage of the underperforming American men, with a Hubert Kos here and a Regan Smith there, Bowman’s contingent performed like few others in Paris. In doing so, the pro group he’s led since the Tokyo Olympics lived up to Bowman’s coaching credo in this second chapter of his career, after North Baltimore Aquatic Club and the University of Michigan with a swimmer of some renown named Michael Phelps.
Fast swimmers are what Bowman seeks out. Turning good swimmers into great ones and greats into legends is his guiding principle, whatever flag may adorn their caps and suits. Paris marked a celebration of unparalleled success.
“I think as a coach, it’s always amazing to bring forward your swimmers, whoever they are,” Bowman said. “… For me, I’m here trying to help everyone do their best. And if they do, I feel good about it.”
Leading Leon
For the adoring French public, Bowman will be as synonymous with Marchand’s performance there as he long has been with Phelps in America. Once a promising youth swimmer born in Toulouse to Olympian parents, Marchand has grown into a world-beater thanks to his time in Tempe with Bowman. There, he’s built upon an excellent technical foundation from long-course swimming in his youth with the speed work and underwater proficiency required of short-course yards competition. A busy racing schedule in the NCAA has forced Marchand to develop toughness that eludes many European swimmers, especially in their early 20s.
Most importantly, for a swimmer whose talent and aspirations exceed all but the elitest of echelons, finding the man who navigated Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals was a vital piece of the puzzle. In doing so, Marchand joined Phelps (twice), Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto as the only swimmers to win four individual gold medals at the same Olympics.
Bowman is under no illusions as to his role in Marchand’s journey. It’s as a sagacious presence just off stage, advising and extracting the best while Marchand laps up the limelight his swims have earned. Bowman didn’t discover Marchand, who made an Olympic final in Tokyo before he’d started in Arizona. But he has helped Marchand bring out the best in himself.
“This whole meet is about me fulfilling a promise I made to a kid three years ago,” Bowman said. “And that I can come through and deliver because not only was it a challenge for him, it was a huge challenge for me. So to put it together, see it come to fruition, it’s incredibly satisfying, and to be able to help him meet this moment, ready for it, it’s amazing.”
Marchand fulfilled the promise in the pool, not Bowman. He began the Games by dominating the men’s 400 individual medley, the event in which he took down Phelps’ last remaining world record in 2023. Marchand added the Olympic record, under Phelps’ former world mark from his eight-for-eight golden performance in Beijing, and a winning margin of nearly six seconds over the field.
He added a golden double on the fifth night of the meet that exceeded anything even Phelps had ever done. He outdueled reigning 200 butterfly champion Kristof Milak by a half-second, rallying on the final lap, then dominated the 200 breaststroke to deny Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook a second straight gold. Both were Olympic records.
He made no mistakes in the 200 IM to become the first man since Phelps in 2008 to complete the IM double, then shared the French glory by helping the country win its first ever medal in the men’s medley relay (the event dates to the 1960 Games) with bronze.
A Stacked Stable
Were Marchand Bowman’s only star in Paris, the credit may have been due solely to the Frenchman’s brilliance. But swimmers of all flags lined up to testify as to Bowman’s influence.
It was felt among the American delegation, which counted Bowman as an assistant coach in Tokyo. Veterans like Paige Madden and Simone Manuel have rebuilt their careers working with Bowman. Regan Smith, who won three individual silvers and two relay golds, has taken her undeniable talent to new levels after working with Bowman, on the physical and mental aspects of the sport. Bowman guided Drew Kibler in his final push toward making a second Olympic team in the 800 freestyle relay, and Kibler played a key role in returning the U.S. to the podium in that event.
“Bob and Eric (Posegay) really pushed me and held me to the highest standard as well as my teammates,” said Madden, whose shock bronze in the women’s 800 free was the result of a best time by nearly eight seconds and one of the best moments of the meet for Team USA. “I train with the best people in the world. Regan Smith has pushed me every single day, and shout out to her for that. I’m so thankful for that. And I think I had a few breakthroughs in training that in turn, made me believe in myself.”
“I think it’s taught me a lot and it’s helped me definitely strengthen things on the mental side, because I think I’ve always had it physically,” Smith said after setting the world record at U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100 backstroke. “I just for a long time didn’t have it mentally. But I’ve worked really, really hard with Bob, and a lot of my teammates, and I’ve learned a lot from all of them. And I think that’s really helped what culminated a great swim tonight.”
With Bowman in charge, Arizona State became a haven for international swimmers, too. Ilya Kharun, who trained primarily with Bowman’s assistant and new ASU head man Herbie Behm, netted bronze medals in both butterfly events for Canada. Hubert Kos, who exploded into a world champion in the 200 back last year summer, parlayed that into Olympic gold this year.
“Without him I’d probably be like 15th in the 2IM right now,” Kos said. “It’s been an incredible journey with him, and I’m just to happy be part of a team like that. The magic touch is the work. He doesn’t let us be second best. He doesn’t let us stoop down to a level he doesn’t want from us. That brings out the best in us.”
Those swimmers have also brought out the best in Bowman, in a way. Bowman’s ability to help Phelps reach transcendent status was singular, in both Phelps’ greatness and the complexity and length of their relationship. Phelps was never Bowman’s only student, and the success of Allison Schmitt, Chase Kalisz and many others spoke to Bowman’s pedigree as stemming from more than just Phelps.
But in guiding the swimmer who could come as close as any since Phelps as warranting a place in the same breath as the greatest of all time, Bowman is also adding new chapters to his legacy.
