Michael Phelps' coach Bob Bowman makes feelings on the American reclaiming 200m butterfly gold at the Rio Olympics

Michael Phelps is the most decorated swimmer of all-time, having won 28 Olympic and 26 World Championships medals. Recently, the American’s coach, Bob Bowman made his feelings known on what it meant for the pair to reclaim the 200m butterfly title at the Rio Olympics.

Phelps made his Olympic debut in 2004, when he was just 15 years old. Four years later, he was back on the biggest stage in the world, this time winning a record-breaking eight gold medals. At the 2012 London Games, the swimmer won six medals, and he repeated this feat in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.

Recently, the official X account of the Olympics shared a throwback to a 31-year-old Michael Phelps winning the 200m butterfly race at the 2016 Games, further cementing his status as the most successful Olympian of all-time. Reacting to the video, Bob Bowman wrote,

“This one meant a great deal to us @MichaelPhelps!”

Bob Bowman reflects on coaching Michael Phelps over the course of his career

Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps at the 2016 Austin Elite Invite (Image Source: Getty)

Michael Phelps first started training under Bob Bowman when he was just ten years old. Together the duo established themselves as the most successful pairing the swimming world has ever seen, with Phelps consistently dominating his competition for a little over a decade.

Speaking at an event for the Arizona State University, Bowman reflected on how ‘discontent’ played a major role in the American’s journey to success, saying,

“There can be no growth without discontent. Michael learned skills so that under pressure, he could perform. Don’t try to make everything perfect for yourself — be tough on yourself. It isn’t a straight line to success. We didn’t just have an idea, a dream, and then just go directly toward it. Success has a lot of ups and down, backward and forward. Over time, you move in the direction you want to be.”

Bowman went on to name the two things he encouraged his athletes to do as they bid for success on the international stage. The first was the art of writing down their goals.

“Write down your specific target. If you write something down, it’s more meaningful. You don’t have to post it on Facebook. It can be very private,” he said.

The ASU head coach added that visualisation was another crucial habit, explaining,

“I want them to visualize in the most vivid way possible. I want them to smell the chlorine and see themselves swimming exactly the way they want to. Because the brain cannot distinguish between something that’s vividly imagined and something that is real.”

Away from the pool, Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman continue to share an incredibly close bond even after the former’s retirement. Bowman considers Phelps' children his own grandchildren and the 60-year-old is a big part of their life.