Years After Michael Phelps’ Exit, Bob Bowman’s Next Star, Eyeing Olympic Gold, Gets Legend’s Backing

For Bob Bowman, success is not a new thing to taste. He has guided some of the most iconic swimmers like Michael Phelps to reach the top. However, Phelps’ retirement does seem to make the Olympics an alien affair for the legendary coach. But an Arizona-based swimmer appears to have what it takes to bring back Bowman to the Olympic picture once again.

With the Paris showdown only five months away, the race to the grandest stage is getting more intense with every passing day. While Michael Phelps’ coach continues to dream big, young Regan Smith carries a heavy responsibility to get along with that. Interestingly, on this road, she has the support from none other than Michael Phelps himself.

Michael Phelps rallies behind the young Turk

In a recent interview with 12news.com, three-time Olympic medalist Smith sat down to talk about how being trained by Bob Bowman can work as a thrust to the systems. The 22-year-old has been breaking records for a long time and naturally caught the attention of Phelps with her sensational performances on big stages. Justifiably, the 23-time Olympic gold medalist can’t wait to see another of Bowman’s students clinching glory on the biggest showdown in the world and had to voice his support for the same.

In the interview, Regan recalled how Phelps made her understand that he would be rooting for her. “he said… ‘if you ever need anything, I completely understand what you’re going through right now, this isn’t easy. If you ever need anything, I’m here. I have your back. I’m rooting for you. I want you to succeed,’“, Smith revealed her interaction with Bowman’s arguably most famous student.

Smith mentioned that the decision to move to ASU after the 2022 World Aquatics Championships was a pivotal moment in her career, with Bowman becoming her new coach. Smith mentioned that her time under Bowman’s tutelage has been “an amazing experience“, while also being incredibly demanding. Training 9 times a week and 2 hours a day, Smith remains optimistic about her upcoming Olympic test. But what made Smith make a shift to Bowman’s guidance?

Smith’s fixation with making it big

To get an understanding of this, we have to go back to 2022. Smith had previously explained her situation before the 200m fly race in the world championships that year, “I’m just not sure how I want to swim it. I feel like the race is controlling me…That’s not me. That’s not how I was in Tokyo a year ago. I had a great plan…This year, I just didn’t feel like that was the case.” Apparently, Stanford coach Greg Meehan’s training technique did not sit well with Regan. So she took a break and came back with a fresh thought.

That thought made her get in touch with her club coach, Mike Parratto. Paratto was the one who got Smith in touch with Bob Bowman. The story started to change from there. After a conversation with Bowman, Regan made up her mind. Interestingly, she describes the conversation as “really tough.” But overcoming that toughness, now Smith is set on her goal.

Read more: Michael Phelps Overcomes ‘Bumps’ to Share Champion Mindset, Trials and More

“My biggest dream is to be an Olympic gold medalist“, Smith stated, making it clear that training with Bowman could easily be the biggest decision she took in her life. “I’ve been thinking about that every single day in the pool, and I thought about that when I made my decision“, mentioned Regan affirming that she will go to Paris with all guns blazing and hoping for the best results.

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