'Generational talent': Michael Phelps's former coach says comparisons to Summer McIntosh are fair

Without a moment’s hesitation, unflinching really, legendary swimming coach Bob Bowman jumped to his answer when asked if the many comparisons made between the greatest swimmer ever — Michael Phelps — and Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh were warranted and fair.

“I think it's very fair because they swim almost identical programs. They’re generational talents, they work at a very high level and so I certainly understand the similarities,” Bowman said inside his coach’s office at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Saturday evening. 

“I want to take her as far as she can go. And if she does that, I think she'll end up being right up there.“

McIntosh is coming off last summer’s world championships in Singapore where she won four individual gold medals and a bronze — Phelps is the only swimmer ever to have won five individual gold medals at a single world championships.

Bowman helped shape Phelps into a gold medal-winning machine, all while guiding him through the hoopla and attention that came with Phelps being that dominant.

“I think that as she grows and there are more demands placed on her, particularly leading into L.A., how we manage all that will be very important, and that's where I've had this unique experience with Michael where I understand that part,” Bowman said.

For the last five months Bowman has been coaching McIntosh as a part of his pro team at the University of Texas. He’s the Director of Swimming and head men's coach of the Longhorns swimming and diving teams — and also trains a pro group that McIntosh is now part of.

The Toronto native made the move to Austin to join forces with the coach who helped lead Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals ahead of the L.A. 2028 Games.

On Saturday evening, McIntosh broke her second pool record in two consecutive nights during the Pro Swim Series meet. Her time of four minutes 28.13 seconds in the 400m individual medley took down Kirsty Coventry’s — the now IOC President — record set in 2008. 

McIntosh’s time was about four-and-a-half seconds slower than her world record time in the event but both coach and athlete were pleased with the performance. 

“I liked her breaststroke, the first part. We've been working on that. She got a little tired at the end. I did not like her backstroke. We need to spend more time on that, but overall, it's a pretty solid swim,” Bowman said.

“It's pretty heavy training now, probably more than she's been under for a while.”

Bowman does not mince his words when it comes to breaking down a race or training session, something McIntosh craves, sometimes brutal honesty, and has been thriving under since arriving.