There’s a lot of cash up for grabs, and Leon Marchand is eyeing it all! It has only been over a month since Marchand mesmerized his home crowd at the Paris Olympics. But he is already looking forward to diving right into the next chapter. Coming up shortly is the Swimming World Cup in Shanghai. Apart from Marchand, big names like Nicolo Martinenghi, Thomas Ceccon, Pan Zhanle, and Kaylee McKeown will be battling for the ultimate glory. 

Now, winning a world championship is always a huge deal for an athlete. But the event in Shanghai has quite a lot to cash for the swimmers to grab. With a total of 10 events, a swimmer can enter any number of events as per their choice without a capping. And to make things even more interesting, the top-ranked swimmer after the conclusion of the World Cup will get an additional $100,000 to boost their earnings! Thus, with the money game in play, Leon Marchand is surely the favorite to reign supreme in Asia. But he will be without his mentor, Bob Bowman. 

Leon Marchand is on the World Cup journey without Bob Bowman

The individual prize money for the winner in each of the male and female categories is $12,000. Thus, Marchand would probably look to enter into as many events as possible to make a strong case for himself finishing on the top pedestal. However, while his form looks red hot at the moment, there is one thing bothering the swimming icon. The absence of his long-time mentor, Bob Bowman. Bowman is a name that is highly regarded in the swimming fraternity. 

Known as a legend, the decorated coach famously guided Michael Phelps throughout his career. Likewise, Bowman has been in Marchand’s service for a long time too. While Bowman has served nine seasons at the ASU Sun Devils. This helped Marchand develop as a swimmer and grow in stature initially for the ASU and then for his country. However, in a recent announcement, Bowman stated that he will be leaving ASU and begin working as the new head coach for the Texas Longhorns. 

While such an announcement sent shockwaves through the entire community, it was Marchand’s future that seemed to be in jeopardy. Thankfully, he will be working with Nicolas Castel, another accomplished coach, until the end of 2024. Thus, with a new coach coming in, it will be interesting to see if Marchand can replicate his previous antics in Shanghai. But being the dedicated student he is, Marchand will only be under Castel till the end of 2024. 

Marchand will follow Bowman back to Texas

While under Castel, Bowman will be keeping a close eye on his star pupil. And despite winning the NCAA title with the Sun Devils, Marchand is expected to move back to Texas. At the moment, Bowman is busy settling down in his new role as the Director of Swimming. Once that is sorted, the student-teacher duo is expected to reunite once again.

Interestingly, Bowman has recently been critical of Leon Marchand’s performances. Despite doing well, Bowman feels that the Frenchman is still not at his 100% potential. The legendary coach emphasized rehab techniques away from the pool. He also made notes of some technical flaws of Leon Marchand that needed fine-tuning. Speaking about Marchand’s prospects in the World Cup, Bowman teased that the Olympic gold medalist might venture into new event categories in Shanghai.

The coach said, “I think you’ll see in the World Cups that he’ll play with different events and see what happens… I think he’s definitely going to look at not just doing the 400 IM full go this year.” Thus, with Bob Bowman’s ever-watchful eyes always on Leon Marchand, the $100,000 prize money might well be credited to the Frenchman’s bank account post-World Cup in October 2024.