Bob Bowman Talks Leon Marchand & Life In The Spotlight
Bob Bowman knew from experience how the life of Leon Marchand would change after he won four gold medals in Paris.
The Frenchman won the 200 and 400IM double, the 200m breaststroke and the 200 fly in front of an ecstatic home crowd at La Défense Arena to become only the third man – along with Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz – to win four individual gold medals at a single Olympics.
He completed his silverware in the medley relay where he joined Yohann Ndoye Brouard, Maxime Grousset and Florent Manaudou, swimming the breaststroke leg as France claimed bronze.
Marchand’s impact rippled far beyond swimming. French president Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media platform X – formerly Twitter: “The impossible isn’t French! Four home gold medals and a new Olympic record — it’s historic. It’s Léon Marchand.”
Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia
Fans at Roland Garros burst into 20 seconds of cheers and chants during the match between Rafael Nadal and Austin Krajicek when Marchand overhauled Kristof Milak to the 200 fly title. That was repeated across countless venues whenever the 22-year-old took to the water.
He played a role in the Closing Ceremony; his image was wherever you turned in the French capital and he has been in demand for interviews ever since.
Bowman has seen it before with Phelps.
Marchand set out on the World Cup tour where he headed the men’s overall rankings before withdrawing from the short-course worlds in Budapest, citing exhaustion.
That was a decision Bowman supported and speaking to reporters in the Hungarian capital, he said: “I think he got a taste of what his new life is like after the Olympics and it’s difficult, right?
“It’s very stressful to prepare and swim in the Olympic Games and do the performances but then all the things that came after it, while they were wonderful take a toll on you, right? So, I think he needs a little chance to regroup mentally and get back into training so that we can get started the first of the year working towards the summer.”
Bowman wasn’t at all shocked at the change in Marchand’s life. Casting his mind back to Paris, he said: “No, I know exactly what it’s like, I told him.
“In Paris I said ‘I am going to get on a plane tomorrow and I know exactly what it’s going to be like for you but you don’t know anything about it and you just keep your head on your shoulders and be patient and don’t get frustrated with all the attention because it’s a lot and it was.
“I can help him manage it but at the end of the day he just has to learn how to incorporate that into his life.
“It’s difficult, it’s sad in some ways because before – same thing with Michael – when you are coming up the ladder you have some sense of privacy at times and he will not have that unless he’s in a house somewhere. When he goes out in France, everyone is going to know him and it’s a wonderful thing but it comes with a responsibility and he’ll learn to manage with it.”
Bob Bowman: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia
The five-time world champion has turned professional and will train at Austin, Texas, where Bowman is the director of swimming and diving and the head men’s coach.
Bowman didn’t speak of Marchand’s plans in the coming months into Singapore worlds and beyond into LA 2028 except to say that he himself would likely be on the USA coaching team in 2028.
He described 2025 as an adjustment year for Marchand and “about resetting and getting used to his new dynamic” with the World Championships the major meet of the year in Singapore in July.
Of whether life will be easier for Marchand in Austin, Bowman concluded: “Yes. It will be. He will have much less attention on daily basis. The average Texan isn’t going around thinking about swimmers, they’re concerned about football!”