Leon Marchand made quite the splash at the La Défense Arena in Paris, leaving his competition in his wake and emerging as one of the standout athletes of the Olympics. With five medals to his name, the 22-year-old Frenchman made a triumphant return to the global stage, proving once again why he’s a force to be reckoned with. But after gliding through the waters and dominating the pool, even a star like Marchand needed a breather. Now, recharged and ready, he’s setting his sights on the upcoming World Cup and the World Short Course Championships, with his mentor, Nicolas Castel, by his side.

However, despite his incredible haul of accolades, including four Olympic golds, there’s one person who remains unimpressed—legendary coach Bob Bowman. Having guided Marchand through his early college days, Bowman, the man behind Michael Phelps’ meteoric rise, has some unexpected opinions about his former student. According to Bowman, Marchand isn’t quite hitting his full potential yet. In his view, the young French sensation has a lot more room for improvement if he wants to cement his status as an Olympic hero.

Leon Marchand gets scrutinized by Bob Bowman

While the world celebrates Marchand’s recent success, Bowman’s sharp analysis brings a different perspective. Despite his nine glittering golds, along with a silver and four bronze medals, Bowman believes Marchand has yet to reach his peak. “He’s not at 100%,” Bowman stated, emphasizing that the young swimmer has plenty of fine-tuning to do if he hopes to reach the heights of true Olympic greatness.

Speaking with Swimming World Magazine recently, Bowman did not believe that Marchand was using his full potential. Bowman initially took up the mentoring of Marchand when he was at Arizona State University. Currently in Austin, the legendary coach will once again reunite with his former student. Teasing new events for Marchand, Bowman stated, “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.”

Bowman further explained the loopholes that might be affecting Marchand’s performance. He opined that strength and rehab techniques away from the swimming pool play a significant role in unlocking the full potential of an athlete. Bowman also noted some technical limitations which he wanted to work with Marchand. Well, with such minute snippets coming in, Marchand might well be on course to reach the levels of Michael Phelps. Well, speaking of Phelps, who other than Bob Bowman would know the legendary swimmer better? 

Bob Bowman’s legendary pairing with Michael Phelps

Coming off a haul of 28 Olympic medals, Michael Phelps can flex his rippling lean torso as a hero. However, behind the meteoric rise of Phelps is his childhood coach, Bob Bowman. Bowman and Phelps crossed paths when the swimmer was merely 11 years old. Never changing his alliance with Bowman, Phelps ended up as the most decorated swimmer of modern-day sports. And guess what kept the duo gelling so well for 20 long years- their unbreakable bond. 

During their time together, quite naturally, the duo faced roadblocks. But that didn’t peg back their spirits an iota. Revealing their master plan, Phelps once told Sportslane, “We went through together, and it brought challenges to us and we kind of just decided that we were biting the bullet and we were going to get through it together.” Thus, it was fate that made Bowman take notice of Phelps at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club clinic with Cathy Lears. 

Phelps also mentioned how Bowman knew him in and out and what his coach had to do whenever Bowman needed that extra push from the swimming legend. Thus, with a proven track record of crafting legends, Bob Bowman’s reconciliation with Leon Marchand might well be the start of something epic.