How Phelps’ coach turned Marchand into an Olympic swimming legend

As the unstoppable Léon Marchand swam to his fourth individual gold medal in six days, the 59-year-old American coach behind the face of the Paris Olympics sat on the pool terrace in tears.

The 22-year-old from Toulouse had just claimed gold medals in all four events he competed in, winning the 400m individual medley, then the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke on the same night, and the 200m individual medley on Friday, setting Olympic records in each event. Night after night, Marchand transformed the converted rugby arena on the western outskirts of Paris into a red-hot sounding board, captivating a nation of 68 million.

None of this would have been possible without Bob Bowman, the most successful coach in American swimming, best known for discovering Michael Phelps at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and turning his raw talent into a winning machine before coaching the American to 23 Olympic gold medals and 28 overall. Now Bowman has struck gold with another pool prodigy whose future is bursting with promise.

“It’s an incredible series of events,” he said. “I feel like he’s done everything we could expect from him in this environment, in this kind of build-up and preparation. He couldn’t have handled himself better between all the races. So it’s just been a complete success… He’s just 100% successful. So I’m very proud of him, it takes a lot to be perfect.”

Four years ago, shortly after accepting his coaching job at Arizona State University, Bowman received an email from a French teenager who hoped to attend college and train in the United States.

Dear Sir, I am a French swimmer, my name is Léon Marchand (18 years old). I would like to go to Arizona State University in the summer of 2021 to swim and compete in the NCAA with your great team. Do you think I could qualify for a scholarship? What level of education is required? (TOEFL, SAT…) Please find attached my presentation sheet. Thank you for the time you spent on my request.

From a sporting point of view, Leon

Bowman had never heard of the sender, though he recognized the last name and correctly deduced that his parents were swimmers. The coach, who was trying to build a national contender from scratch at the Tempe school, wrote back.

After a series of Skype conversations that left both parties impressed, Marchand accepted a full scholarship with the Sun Devils, forging a partnership that resulted in 10 individual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles in three seasons and the Sun Devils’ first NCAA team title. When Bowman left Arizona in the spring to take a job at the University of Texas, Marchand made the 1,000-mile move to Austin to continue working under him.

Shortly after, Bowman, who had served as head coach of the U.S. swimming team, joined the French coaching staff as an assistant, so he could continue to work directly with Marchand in the run-up to the Olympic Games on home soil. That raised some eyebrows in his home country, where Bowman has been a fixture on the decks of U.S. teams for two decades, either as an assistant or head coach.

By stepping down from his U.S. coaching duties, Bowman has the freedom to coach students regardless of nationality. That includes American backstroke swimmer Regan Smith, who won three individual silvers and two relay golds in Paris and often trains with Marchand. The same goes for Hungary’s Hubert Kos, who won gold in the 200m backstroke on Thursday.

“The magic touch is the work,” Kos said of Bowman. “He doesn’t let us be second best. He doesn’t let us stoop to a level that he doesn’t want us to be. That brings out the best in us.”

It all set the tone for the past week, as Marchand made La Défense Arena the canvas for his groundbreaking pièce de résistance. France international Antoine Griezmann was among the cheering supporters as Marchand won the 400-meter individual medley for his first gold on Sunday. As he completed the sweep on Friday, matching a feat achieved by Phelps and Mark Spitz, television cameras captured French President Emmanuel Macron. pumping his fist.

Perhaps the highlight of Bowman’s week came on Wednesday, when Marchand dethroned two Olympic champions – Hungary’s Kristof Milak in the 200m butterfly and Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook in the 200m breaststroke – in the space of 90 minutes. In doing so, he became the fourth swimmer to win two individual gold medals on the same day, a feat last accomplished by East Germany’s Kornelia Ender in 1976.

“I’m so proud of him,” Bowman said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone win two individual events [in the same session]. Tonight was amazing, he will never forget it. Honestly, this whole meeting is about fulfilling a promise I made to a child three years ago and I was able to keep it, because it was not only a challenge for him, but a huge challenge for me.

“Seeing it all come together and blossom, it’s incredibly satisfying to be able to help him get to this moment.”

After completing the historic sweep on Friday night, Marchand said he will continue training with Bowman. “We’ve shared some great moments here. We’ve worked really hard for the last three years. I don’t know how to do the next part [of my career]. I think he will really help me with that, because he knows a lot about it.”

If understatement were an Olympic sport, Marchand might have won a fifth gold medal there. The duo is eyeing the Olympics in four years in Los Angeles, where the swim will be held before a record 38,000 spectators at SoFi Stadium, home of the NFL’s LA Rams and Chargers. Bowman was as optimistic as ever, saying that Marchand was just getting started and could eventually compete in other events, such as the 100m butterfly, as his physical condition strengthens with time.

“He can do better,” said Bowman, who already ranks Marchand among the best swimmers of all time. “He hasn’t reached his potential yet. He can definitely swim faster. I put him at the top right now because he’s just got the total package. He’s got the speed, he’s got the endurance, he’s got the underwater world.”