“No way in h*ll I'm ever swimming for that man” - When Michael Phelps reflected on his first impression of coach Bob Bowman and his intense methods

Michael Phelps once reflected on his first impression of former coach Bob Bowman and his tough training methods. He had a remarkable swimming career under Bowman, emerging as the most decorated Olympian with 23 gold medals, three silvers, and a bronze.

Bowman, who became Phelps' coach when he was 11, believed the young swimmer had what it took to shine on the international stage. He convinced his parents and showed faith in him early on, helping him become the greatest swimmer ever.

The partnership wasn’t typical as the two had their share of disagreements, but they pushed each other to be their best versions. In 2018 during his appearance at the THINK 18 conference, Phelps opened up about his first impression of Bowman, calling him "crazy" for using different whistles to signal various commands:

“I remember meeting Bob for the first time and going home that day saying, ‘There's no way in h*ll I'm ever swimming for that man. He is crazy.’ I literally saw him whistling in these different pitches and tones and running up and down the pool and I'm like, ‘This guy's, no, like, mom, I'm not swimming for him.’ Sure enough, later, the next week, I was in his group.

So we started swimming together, working together, and he had different pitches for whistles. So one was, ‘Pick it up,’ one was, ‘What the hell are you doing,’ another one was, ‘You've got to be kidding me.’ So, it took me a while to get used to him and kind of figure out how he works.” [06:58]

Following Michael Phelps’ retirement after the 2016 Rio Olympics, Bowman has remained an important figure in the retired swimmer’s life, taking on a grandfatherly role to his kids.

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Michael Phelps on Leon Marchand's decision to train under coach Bob Bowman

Michael Phelps (L) and Léon Marchand attend Omega House Paris 2024 (Photo by Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Omega)

After Léon Marchand’s remarkable run at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Michael Phelps reflected on the French swimmer’s decision to train under his former coach Bob Bowman in an August 2024 interview with GQ Australia:

“A lot of foreign athletes come to the US and train. A lot of ’em go to universities over there and swim collegiately and also in our normal competition. So for me, I think Léon just found an opportunity and he was excited about coming to the US and swimming for my coach and it's worked out and I'm sure it'll encourage more people to potentially come to the US and train too.”

The retired swimmer mentioned how he found it "special" to watch Marchand be true to himself as a person and an athlete. He shared his support saying his records being broken doesn’t bother him.

Marchand, 22, shattered Phelps’ 400m individual medley world record in 4:02.50 minutes at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and his Olympic record in the 200m IM in Paris in 1:54.06 minutes.