Bob Bowman Talks Gretchen Walsh & The World Record Rush In Budapest
The World Short-Course Championships ended on Sunday 15 December after six whirlwind days that featured 30 world records of which nine were set on individual basis by Gretchen Walsh with the American playing a part in 11 overall.
Long-standing records were consigned to history. Among them was Paul Biedermann’s 200 free mark that had stood since November 2009 as the supersuit era entered its final weeks. Luke Hobson took that down in 1:38.91 on the USA men’s 4×2 lead-off to wipe out the final individual s/c record from the suited era. On Sunday the Olympic bronze medallist cut a further 0.30 to lower it to 1:38.61.
Walsh took down the 50 fly mark that had stood to Therese Alshammar since 2009 in prelims before lowering it still further in the semis to 23.94.
Gretchen Walsh: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala/DeepBlueMedia
Summer McIntosh won three golds in world record time including the 400IM that had stood to Mireia Belmonte since Doha 2014, when the Canadian was eight, as well as going inside Missy Franklin’s WJR in the 200 back, a standard set back in 2011.
Jordan Crooks became the first man to go sub-20 in the 50 free when he posted 19.90 at a raucous Duna Arena. Noè Ponti won the 50/100 fly double with WRs in both events and both men talked about the significance to them of taking down records set by Caeleb Dressel.
According to World Aquatics, as well as the 30 WRs, there were 46 Championship Meet Records, 63 continental standards, 13 WJRs and one world’s best time in a new relay.
Bob Bowman, who coached Leon Marchand to four gold medals in Paris, is the University of Texas’s director of swimming and diving.
Several of the swimmers he oversees were competing in Budapest including Hubert Kos, Regan Smith, Luke Hobson, Shaine Casas, Carson Foster, Paige Madden and Chris Giuliano, who is on his way to Texas. All these swimmers made at least one trip to the top of the podium.
Bowman spoke to the media and of the relentless record-setting, he said: “I think it’s fantastic. Fast swimming inspires others to do fast swimming. When you start getting world records you tend to get more of them so I think it’s been really fun to see. There’s been some amazing swimming.”
Would he have expected that after the Olympics? “Maybe in the short course,” he said. “You come out of the long course, you’ve done a lot of training for the long course and a lot of people have had breaks, right?” So, they’re sort of fresh when they come in here. So, I’m not surprised, I guess I would say that.”
The USA won the Championship Trophy with 1005 points followed by the neutral athletes B team (699pts) and Australia (599).
Walsh was not surprisingly the most successful female with 43pts followed by Regan Smith and McIntosh who both scored 24 pts.
As well as 11 world records, the double Olympic relay champion left Budapest with seven gold medals in the 50/100 free, 50/100 fly, 100IM, 4x100m free and 4x100m medley relay.
Bowman believes Walsh has all the components that put together make a great swimmer, including a great coach in Todd DeSorbo, and compares her favourably with Michael Phelps, who he coached to 28 Olympic medals.
“She is just amazing,” said Bowman. “She’s very well coached, she’s in an excellent programme, clearly. She is physically an amazing swimmer, but technically she is as good as it gets.
“So, she is a combination of all the things that you’s want to have – she is very similar to Michael in that regard in that she has the physical attributes, the mental, technical, she’s in a great programme. She has really good coaching, and she is good under pressure.”
Ponti was male swimmer of the meet with 21.00pts ahead of Crooks (11pts) and Qin Haiyang and neutral athlete Miron Lifintsev, who both scored 10pts, with the latter the most decorated man in Budapest with five golds.
Bowman praised Ponti, saying: “He’s been fantastic. This whole World Cup season. He did well this summer. He is an amazing swimmer, I love to watch him swim, he’s so good underwater, very good technically.”
