Léon Marchand (right), with his coach, Bob Bowman (in beige shorts), during the French swimming championships, in Rennes, on June 14, 2023. ICON SPORT VIA GETTY IMAGES
At 59, Robert Bowman has won everything with Michael Phelps, swimming legend crowned with 28 medals at the Olympic Games, including 23 titles, between 2000 and 2016 – absolute records, all sports combined. Far from enjoying a peaceful retirement, the American coach has been watching over the French nugget Léon Marchand, 21, since the end of summer 2021. T-shirt in the colors of the Sun Devils, the Arizona State University club of which he is in charge, he details Monde this collaboration which should lead the Toulousain to consecration at the Paris 2024 Games. Sunday July 23, Marchand enters the competition in the 400 meter medley at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
When Léon Marchand contacted you to join your group after the 2021 Olympics, did you hesitate before accepting, or was your decision immediate?
I was very excited to train it, it took me two seconds [rires]. I had an idea of his potential as soon as I looked at his times, and then I knew that his father, Xavier, was a former swimmer. [vice-champion d’Europe (1997) et vice-champion du monde (1998), finaliste aux JO d’Atlanta (1996) et de Sydney (2000) sur 200 mètres 4 nages] and his mother too [Céline Bonnet, spécialiste du 4 nages et du dos, a été plusieurs fois championne de France et a participé aux JO de 1992 à Barcelone]…
Going from Toulouse to Tempe, Arizona, is a real culture shock for him…
Yes, when he landed, everything was very different compared to his “before” world: suddenly, he changed country, language, school, training teammates… And, despite that, the transition seemed easy for him, he very quickly flourished in his new environment. He was immediately able to increase his training volume, but the intensity was much higher.
How to sum up the differences between American and French swimming cultures?
The biggest difference – and the one that was the most difficult for him – is that here we train very early in the morning, from 6 o’clock sharp. Gold Leon [Marchand] is a night owl, so it’s a challenge for him to get enough hours of sleep. Another major change is our university system, with very intense and fast-paced competitions. Rubbing it really helped to develop his speed potential. And, in general, our meetings are probably a little more demanding.
And on the very way of training, are there specificities that you do not find in the French method?
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