The 2024 Paris Olympics were as thrilling as ever. The host city had a gala time witnessing their own, Léon Marchand, dominate the Olympic pool. His coach, Bob Bowman, couldn’t help but beam with pride as he watched from the sidelines. The swimmer walked away with 5 Olympic medals, including 4 gold and 4 Olympic records in tow. However, this wasn’t the coach’s first rodeo. He’d been here before with his former tutee, the towering king, Michael Phelps. 

With 28 Olympic medals, the Baltimore Bullet is the most decorated Olympian ever. But despite achieving it all with Phelps, Bowman’s new prodigy, Marchand’s success in the French capital has given the coach his moment to shine. Sports Illustrated unveiled its 2024 Powerlist, showcasing the 50 most influential figures in sports. Among the who’s who, you can find Bob Bowman under the Icons and Leaders category. 

Coaching swimmers to Olympic glory isn’t new for the Texas Longhorns head coach. The excerpt written by Pat Forde reflected this. “If the United Nations of Bowman had been its own entry in Paris, its seven golds, three silvers and one bronze would have been third in the swimming medal table, behind only the U.S. and Australia.” While he had tasted success before, watching Marchand dominate his second event in the Summer Games left the coach feeling emotional. 

Bob Bowman stated, “It was incredible. I’ve never really been at anything like that. So it was great, it was fantastic. I actually did tear up a little bit right at the end, everyone was so happy.” It even left his former tutee, Michael Phelps, surprised. The 23x Olympic gold medalist elaborated on how it wasn’t the same as they were back in the day. “I don’t know if he ever did this,” he stated in a post-race interview.

The Flying Fish first enrolled in Bowman’s training academy at the tender age of 11, and the rest is history. While this is the coach’s first appearance on the list, the legendary swimmer has been featured in Sports Illustrated before. Phelps was first featured on their 2008 cover, dubbed the Sportsman of the Year. The swimmer was nominated again both in 2012 and 2016. However, while he didn’t receive the title, he did get the next best thing.

Readers voted the Olympian’s performance at the London Summer Games as the best Sports Moment of the year. And in 2016, he was bestowed with a special award, dubbing him the ‘Greatest Olympian of All-Time.’ After Léon Marchand and Bob Bowman’s time in the French capital, what’s next for the duo? 

After beating Michael Phelps’ Olympic Record, Léon Marchand is ready for an epic comeback

France’s ‘Golden Boy’ never failed to make heads turn at the Paris La Défense Arena. He walked away with 4 gold medals and 4 Olympic records in just his second Summer Games berth! But it gets even better. His staggering 4:02:95 in the 400IM event shattered Michael Phelps’ long-standing record on his home turf. But after all this excitement, the swimmer was due for a much-needed break. So, that’s exactly what he did. “I tried to enjoy it. I also took some time alone where I was able to reflect and think about what I had done,” he stated.