Bob Bowman, Texas’ new men’s swimming head coach, was named one of the “Top 50 Most Influential People in Sports” by Sports Illustrated. Bowman was mentioned alongside household names such as Simone Biles and LeBron James, athletes who have broken multiple records in their respective sports.
“Well, mainly it’s a surprise that I would be anywhere near that list of people,” Bowman said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a lot of great athletes and people who have given me the opportunity to really participate at the top levels of our sport, which are the Olympic Games.”
Bowman has most famously worked alongside 28-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps. Bowman and Phelps partnered together for an astonishing 20 years, competing in five Olympic Games as a pair.
Bowman’s name was again recognized in the Paris 2024 Olympics where he coached Leon Marchand on Team France. Though he wore the hosting nation T-shirt on the pool deck, Bowman continued to work with U.S. athletes as well, walking away with a sum of seven gold, three silver and one bronze medal.
In his book, “The Golden Rules,” Bowman attributes the two key factors of his success as visualization and dedication. The coach explains that in his coaching philosophy, the process is more important than the outcome.
“The process that we control 100% (dictates) how we practice, the attitude we bring to our work, how we set goals and work towards them, the standards that we have for how we handle ourselves in the pool, out away from the pool, all of those decisions, those things are 100% within our control,” Bowman said. “Outcomes are largely based on what other people do in our sport. I can’t control what other people (or) other swimmers do, and neither can our swimmers, so we try to focus on that.”
Bowman arrived at UT following former head coach Eddie Reese’s departure. His sole focus for the first few weeks was on Olympic training, but now his sights are set on preparing his team for collegiate competition.
“We’ve had about five or six weeks to get into the college program, but I feel like the team has done a great job, and they’re in pretty good shape right now, and we’ll get to see how they do in an actual college dual meet format,” Bowman said. “There are a couple we won’t see, but I feel pretty good about where we are, and I’m excited to see them race and do their thing.”
The team will showcase its skills under Bowman’s coaching for the first time on Thursday, Oct. 3 at the Sam Kendricks Classic.
