Who is Michael Phelps' coach? Know everything about the legendary swimmer's mentor who currently coaches in Arizona
Michael Phelps, arguably the greatest swimmer of all time, was coached by American Bob Bowman throughout his entire career. The duo first met at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club in Baltimore, Maryland, when Phelps was only 11.
Bowman was himself an athlete, swimming for Florida State University in his collegiate career between 1983 and 1985. He shifted to coaching a year later, working with multiple clubs and swim teams over the next five years.
In 1992, the American became the head coach and program director for the Birmingham Swim League. In his time there, Bowman made the BSL a top-five program regionally, when they used to finish outside of the top 20 for the past decade.
After coaching the BSL, the 58-year-old was named the head coach of the Napa Valley Swim Team between 1994-1996. Bowman then moved on to the North Baltimore Aquatics Club, where he spotted the prodigy- Michael Phelps.
The coach-athlete duo went on to break a handful of records while training at the NBAC before Bowman was named the head coach of the University of Michigan. When his coach shifted states, so did Michael Phelps. The two continued to train in Michigan in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and returned to the NBAC after Beijing.
While Bowman had been an assistant coach on the US Olympic team in 2004, 2008, and 2012, it was only in the Rio Games that he was made head coach of the nation's Olympic swim team.
In 2015, the American was hired as a swim coach by Arizona State University, causing Michael Phelps to move to Tempe with him.
Other than Phelps, Bowman has coached many great swimmers, including World and Olympic champion Chase Kalize, five-time World Championships gold-medalist Leon Marchand, and former 200m backstroke World Record holder Regan Smith.
Michael Phelps on Bob Bowman
For Michael Phelps, Bob Bowman was much more than a coach. The swimmer has previously opened up about having had a shaky relationship with his dad when his parents divorced and has often stated that he looks up to Bowman as a father figure.
“He is my dad. Like, I didn’t always have a dad growing up. So for me, having somebody there that was, one who believed in you, had confidence in you, but also helped you along the way. I learned a lot from him and I still learn a lot from him,” he told Chris Paul in an interview for Bloomberg Talks in 2022.
While Phelps was incredibly close to Bowman during his career, that relationship hasn't changed even after the former's retirement. The Baltimore Bullet’s four children refer to the Arizona head coach as “grandpa.”
“He is somebody that comes to the house every day and is grandpa to the boys. He is coaching here at ASU and he’s in the pool with the boys when the weather is right. This is grandpa.”