Canadian swim star Summer McIntosh confirms she will train with Michael Phelps's former coach
CBC
Canadian swimming phenom Summer McIntosh is making it official that following July's world swimming championships she'll be moving to Texas to be coached by Bob Bowman, who famously guided American Michael Phelps to a record 23 Olympic gold medals.
In an exclusive interview with CBC Sports on the pool deck at Toronto's Pan Am Sports Centre on Tuesday, McIntosh said she's committed to Bowman's pro team in Austin, Texas and will be moving there starting late August.
"I think there's a lot of excitement and I think it was something that most people could have guessed even when I started off just because I do similar events to what Bob coaches," McIntosh said. "Some might say it was basically inevitable, but I think now that it's actually happening, hopefully people will be excited."
Bowman served as a coach on the U.S. Olympic team from 2004-2016, and was head coach at Arizona State University from 2015 to 2024. The 59-year-old moved to the U of Texas last year and leads what is widely regarded as the top training group in the world, including Frenchman Leon Marchand, who won four gold medals in Paris last summer, and American stars Regan Smith and Simone Manuel.
In a February interview with CBC Sports, McIntosh said she was leaving Sarasota and hinted at this being her next move, but that she wanted to visit the University of Texas, where Bowman leads the swim program and also runs a professional program, to get a better sense of if she would fit in.
WATCH | McIntosh joins CBC Sports to discuss training with Bob Bowman:
McIntosh is now ready to make the leap, where she will be swimming with Bowman's professional program rather than the NCAA.
"Bob has been absolutely incredible throughout the whole process, and I knew that at some point I was going to make the move, so him making it so easy and being so welcoming, I'm really excited for next season," she said.
McIntosh, 18, has a goal of five individual gold medals at the L.A. 2028 Olympics and feels moving to Bowman, a coach who knows how to navigate intense individual programs, gives her the best chance of doing that.
In Paris last summer, McIntosh became the first Canadian athlete ever to win three Olympic gold medals at one Games.
"Michael Phelps is the greatest of all time and he was absolutely incredible, and Bob not only created Michael but so many other amazing swimmers as well, so it just shows the consistency of his coaching and his craft, and it gives me a lot of confidence," McIntosh said. "I know I can trust him wholeheartedly with my training.
"I have really big goals and I know that he can match that with the work that he gives me and all of his things that he knows. I can go into a program having full confidence in the training I do day to day and be alongside so many amazing and like-minded athletes and swimmers."
But before she moves to Austin at the end of August, McIntosh will be busy. She's currently in Toronto getting in some final training before heading to Victoria next week for the start of the Canadian swimming trials, which will determine the swimmers who will represent Canada at the world championships in Singapore in late July.
McIntosh has spent the majority of this year training in France under the guidance of French Olympic coach Fred Vergnoux. He is a highly accomplished coach who has led swimmers to Olympic gold medals, hundreds of individual records and podium finishes.
