"If I coach Leon Marchand like I coached Michael Phelps, he'd quit in 2 days" - Bob Bowman makes brutal admission about comparisons between swimmers

Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps, Leon Marchand and Bob Bowman (Image: All via Getty)

Michael Phelps' former coach Bob Bowman has made a bold claim about the American's comparisons with Leon Marchand, whom he has been coaching since 2021. The French swimmer has broken Phelps' several records, but Bowman insisted that they were very different.

Marchand's popularity touched the sky at the 2024 Paris Olympics when he won a staggering five medals including four golds, two of which came under 2 hours. The 22-year-old's comparisons with Phelps have been increasing ever since, but coach Bowman believes they were two very different personalities.

"I try to keep them very separate, they are, they are just like as people couldn't be more different," Bowman said on the Unfiltered Waters Podcast. "Sometimes in practice pretty similar. They have this kind of underlying mindset that they just want to get better all the time, they both share that." [12:00 onwards]

The 59-year-old made a bold confession about the training regimen of the two swimmers, claiming that if he coached Leon Marchand like he did Michael Phelps, the French swimmer would quit in two days.

"There's some things that they really share but in terms of who they are asking people it's amazing. If I coach Leon Marchand ilike I coached Michael Phelps, he would quit in like two days. If I coached Michael like I coached Leon, he wouldn't have done anything near what he did, you know what I mean so I'm glad I knew the difference," Bob Bowman added

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However, Bowman added that they were both special to him and didn't like to compare them with each other.

"While they are both special to me, I don't compare them too much. I just think of them as apples and oranges but they are both good," he added

While Bowman coached Phelps since the age of 11, Marchand came under his tutelage at 19 when he joined the Arizona State University. When Bowman moved to Texas last year, Marchand forego his remaining years of NCAA eligibility and turned professional.


"I looked up his times and I was like, 'Uh, yeah'" - Michael Phelps ex-coach Bob Bowman recalls receiving an email from Leon Marchand

Leon Marchand and Bob Bowman at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Source: Getty
Leon Marchand and Bob Bowman at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: Source: Getty

Leon Marchand made his Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but didn't win any medals, registering a best sixth-place finish in the 400m individual medley. The lack of success prompted him to look for a swimming mentor, and Bob Bowman, who led Michael Phelps to a record 28 Olympic medals, was the obvious choice.

The French sent an email to Bowman, asking him to recruit him for the Arizona Sun Devils swimming team. While the 59-year-old didn't know who Merchand was, he recalled being impressed by the swimmer's resume and immediately said a yes.

"Thinking back when I first got that email, the first thing I thought was, 'Marchand? Xavier Marchand? I thought about his dad. I wonder if they are related and they were, of course," Bowman told NBC. "And then I looked up his times and I was like, 'Uh, yeah, most certainly we'd be happy to have you on our team.'"

Bowman has since led Merchand to remarkable success over the years including breaking the last-standing individual world record of his star swimmer Michael Phelps. He was with Merchand at the 2024 Paris Olympics as well, where the French shattered Phelps' Olympic record in the 400m individual medley.

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Edited by Zahid Rashid Dar
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