Michael Phelps reveals coach Bob Bowman's advice during early days that helped him achieve unparalleled success

Michael Phelps recently reflected on his coach Bob Bowman's important anecdote that helped him achieve excellence and unparalleled success in his swimming career. Under Coach Bowman's guidance, Phelps collected 28 Olympic medals and multiple world records.

Phelps first met Coach Bowman when he was 7 years old at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and participated in a 60-minute technique clinic along with the aquatics director, Cathy Lears. The former American swimmer started training under Coach Bowman when he turned 11. Having joined as a baseball/soccer/lacrosse athlete, Coach Bowman convinced Phelps' mother, Debbie, to let him focus on swimming solely, as he saw potential in him to excel in the sport.

Phelps recently shared a video of American record producer Rick Rubin, where he shared an important mindset, stating that ability is often revealed by making an effort.

"Never say you can't do it. Say I haven't done it yet and that's true with everything," Rubin said. "There's nothing that you can't do. You may not have done it yet. We don't know if you can do it or not until you really crack this and then you find out if you can do it or not and then how well you can do it."

Phelps shared the video on his Instagram story and found a resemblance with Coach Bowman's mindset.

"Love this," wrote Phelps. "Reminds me of @coach_bowman told me early on."

Screenshot of Phleps' Instagram story.

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Michael Phelps once reflected on training with Coach Bob Bowman for nearly 20 years

Michael Phelps of the United States ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Getty Images)

Michael Phelps once reflected on training under Coach Bob Bowman for nearly 20 years, stating that they push through each other even during difficult times. He highlighted that their long-lasting bond came from mutual respect.

“The longevity that we've had, it was just something that we both saw in one another, and no matter how hard it got, and I'm sure there are some questions coming up, I don't want to jump into them, but there are some really hard times that we went through together, and it brought challenges to us and we kind of just decided that we were biting the bullet and we were going to get through it together, and just because we saw how strong we were together, the number of years from, I guess if we look from.” (via sportlane.com)

Michael Phelps competed in his first Olympics during the 2000 Sydney Games and over the years went on to become the most decorated Olympian.