When the Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman left Baltimore for Tempe, Ariz., almost two years ago, the two continued to lease the Meadowbrook Aquatic and Fitness Center where Bowman trained Phelps for most of his career. According to a report from the Baltimore Sun, that lease ends this week and will not be renewed.
The operations of the facility will fall back to owners Murray Stephens and his wife Patty. The Sun indicated that all programs, including the Meadowbrook-based North Baltimore Aquatic Club, will continue as normal with one exception in name only.
The Michael Phelps Swim School will no longer bear the name of the greatest swimmer of all-time after the current season of classes ends on May 26, but the swim school itself will continue as normal. The Sun quotes a release from Aquatic Ventures LLC, owned by Phelps and Bowman, in explaining why Phelps’ name is being pulled from the program:
“Now that Michael is retired, Michael Phelps Swimming will concentrate its focus on the promotion of the sport — and activity — of swimming, and the importance of water safety. The experience and knowledge gained from operating the swim school at Meadowbrook, and from working with so many talented people over the years, will most certainly be of great value to these efforts.”
Phelps swam at Meadowbrook and represented the North Baltimore Aquatic Club for his entire career except for two stretches. From 2004 to 2008, he trained at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and represented Club Wolverine, and then for the last year of his career, from the fall of 2015 through the summer of 2016, Phelps trained primarily on the campus of Arizona State University, although he continued to officially represent North Baltimore.
Read more from the Baltimore sun here.