Is Regan Smith being coached by Bob Bowman?

Regan Smith, a three-time medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, revealed last summer that she will leave Stanford after just one season to pursue a career in sports. She now trains in Arizona with Bob Bowman, the former trainer of Michael Phelps.

Smith, a resident of Lakeville, made her US Open swimming championship debut in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she won five races and set a meet record in the 200-meter backstroke.

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Who is Bob Bowman?

Robert Bowman (also known as Bob Bowman), an American swimming coach, was born on April 6, 1965, and he currently serves as the head coach of Arizona State University's swimming and diving teams. Michael Phelps, an American swimmer who has won 23 Olympic gold medals, was most notably coached by Bowman.

Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps of the United States speak with the media

Bowman was the head coach of the University of Michigan men's swimming and diving teams from 2005 to 2008. His squad is known as the Michigan Wolverines. He served as the North Baltimore Aquatic Club's CEO and head coach from 2008 until 2015.

Bowman was named the men's head coach of the United States Olympic team for 2016 by USA Swimming in 2015.

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Why did Regan Smith decide to take Bob Bowman on as her coach?

The 200m Butterfly final from the World Championships came to mind while the 20-year-old swimmer was swimming. Regan Smith, who won the silver medal in the Olympics, started the race in the second position. With 50 meters to go, she was just three-tenths of a second behind Summer McIntosh. She finished fourth, a second-and-a-half slower than her fastest time, although her speed declined in the final 50 meters, the second-slowest in the race.

Regan Smith had a scheduled vacation after competing at Worlds and avoided the water for many weeks. During that time, she thought back on her season. She reconsidered her training with Stanford coach Greg Meehan, whose methods were different from what Smith had become accustomed to while working with club coach Mike Parratto.

Meehan's method of training, which placed a strong emphasis on pace, technique, and enough recovery time between hard sessions and repeats, undoubtedly produced some of the top swimmers in the world.

However, Regan Smith found it challenging to change. She found herself unable to match the year-old's best times in the mid-distance freestyle and individual medley races, even if her backstroke and butterfly remained outstanding.

After years of training with Parratto, she was excited about a change of pace, but by December, when Smith went home to Minnesota for the holidays, she had lost her enthusiasm.

Smith spoke with Parratto about her ideas, and Parratto set her up with Bob Bowman, the Arizona State head coach who rose to swimming fame as Michael Phelps' coach and eventually guided Allison Schmitt during her protracted career. When Regan Smith and Bob Bowman spoke, she was prepared to commit after learning about the program and training.

In a news statement made a few months ago, Regan Smith said,

“After spending a substantial part of the last two years on my mental game, it’s time to focus on increasing my training intensity. I’m entirely confident that Bob’s leadership and training will have me exactly where I want to be for Paris 2024. I believe that, in the long run, this is the best way for me to continue to develop as an athlete.”

Michael Phelps' longtime coach, Bob Bowman, has been the head coach of Arizona State since 2015. Frenchman Leon Marchand, who won the men's solo medley at the championships, is a member of his collegiate team.