The Bob Bowman Medley Tree: Dominance Cannot Be Denied
At last summer’s World Championships in Singapore, the medalists in the men’s 200-meter individual medley were quite familiar with one another. While they represented three different countries, they saw each other on a daily basis, under the watch of coach Bob Bowman at the University of Texas. Ultimately, France’s Leon Marchand walked away with gold at Worlds, with American Shaine Casas earning silver ahead of Hungarian Hubert Kos in the bronze-medal position.
The training group at Texas is extraordinary, its members boasting dozens of Olympic medals. The atmosphere undoubtedly promotes competition and the sharpening of skills for international competition. At the center of the operation is Bowman, an inductee into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the man who molded Michael Phelps into the greatest swimmer in history.
While Bowman has mentored athletes to success in all strokes and distances during his coaching career, his work in mentoring individual medley stars is simply outrageous. Not only does the current training group at Texas feature its stacked men’s contingent, world-record holder Summer McIntosh is part of the fray, with the Canadian owning global marks in the 200 IM and 400 IM. Prior to moving to Texas, McIntosh bloomed under the coaching of Brent Arckey and Fred Vergnoux.
Below is a glance at the male swimmers coached by Bowman – at one time or another – who rank among the all-time performers in medley competition.
200 Individual Medley
1. Leon Marchand (France) – 1:52.69
3. Michael Phelps (United States) – 1:54.16
4. Shaine Casas (United States) – 1:54.30
10. Hubert Kos (Hungary) – 1:55.34
12. Chase Kalisz (United States) – 1:55.40
16. Carson Foster (United States) – 1:55.65
400 Individual Medley
1. Leon Marchand (France) – 4:02.50
2. Michael Phelps (United States) – 4:03.84
4. Chase Kalisz (United States) – 4:05.90
8. Carson Foster (United States) – 4:06.56
10. Tyler Clary (United States) – 4:07.31
24. Rex Maurer (United States) – 4:09.65