Carol Capitani reflects on collaborating with Michael Phelps' former coach for Texas Longhorns' approach

Michael Phelps’ former coach, Bob Bowman, is currently the Director of Swimming and Diving & Head Men’s Coach at the University of Texas, and the women’s team is headed by acclaimed head coach Carol Capitani. She recently shared her thoughts on collaborating with Bowman.

Under Bowman’s tutelage, Phelps became arguably the greatest Olympian and the most decorated swimmer with 28 Olympic medals. Under Capitani’s guidance, the Texas Women’s Swimming and Diving program has gone to 12 straight Big 12 team titles. She was also the head coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team three times.

During her recent appearance on the “Unfiltered Waters Podcast,” she expressed her thoughts on the positive impact of working together with Bowman’s team. Additionally, mentioning the advantageous influence acquired from their joint practice sessions. She added:

“It's kind of fun for the coaches. When Bob came in, we've sat down. We still sit down and figure out how can we be better, what can we do, together, separate. I mean we work pretty independently of each other but there's ways in which you know we're we're doing things better,” she said [42:38 onwards]

Capitani continued,

“I think it's been fun and different for both sides. It's helped, I think just build a stronger team, have them get to know each other. I think they all work pretty hard when they're together because guys don't want to get beat by the girls and vice versa. It's nice having like a new infusion of thought, talent and working with different people.”

Phelps’s former head coach, Bob Bowman, was the men’s head coach at the 2016 Rio Olympics and assistant coach in the last three Olympics. In 2010, the prominent collegiate head coach was inducted into the ASCA Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame.

Michael Phelps' former coach and Carol Capitani guided the USA Team during the 2023 World Championships

USA Women's Team at the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships: Swimming - Day 8 - Source: Getty

The longtime head coach of Michael Phelps, Bob Bowman, and prominent head coach of the women’s swimming team of the Texas Longhorns, Carol Capitani, were named the head coaches to lead the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

Under their guidance, the USA Team clinched seven gold medals, 22 silver medals, and 15 bronze medals, taking their tally of medals to 44. They came third in the list behind No. 1 China and No. 2 Australia. Capitani also served as the assistant coach during the Budapest 2022 World Aquatics Championships, as per ESPN.

Capitani is a decorated head coach who has achieved numerous national and international accolades throughout her coaching career. The Texas Longhorns had NCAA top-10 finishes in her 12 seasons as the head coach. The former head coach of Michael Phelps, Bob Bowman, is five-time ASCA Coach of the Year and six-time USA Swimming Coach of the Year.