Two of the top coaches in the NCAA will take the reins of the U.S. World Championship team this summer, as Bob Bowman and Carol Capitani have been named head coaches for the American squad at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
The announcement was made by USA Swimming National Team Director Lindsay Mintenko Friday via Instagram, and USA Swimming issued a press release shortly thereafter.
Leading us to Fukuoka 🤝
More on our 2023 @WorldAquatics Championships head coaches » https://t.co/tQ4VtsBIz1 pic.twitter.com/jA7bdsWYri
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) January 20, 2023
Bowman, currently in his eighth season as head coach of the rapidly rising Arizona State Sun Devils, will lead the men’s team in Fukuoka, bringing an accomplished international resume that includes being the head coach of the U.S. men’s team at the 2016 Olympic Games.
This will be his fourth time acting as head coach of the American men at the World Aquatics Championships, having also done so in 2007, 2009 and 2013. The longtime head coach of the most decorated Olympian in history, Michael Phelps, Bowman was also an assistant on the U.S. staff at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and the 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2011 World Championships.
Capitani is in her 11th season as head coach of the women’s team at the University of Texas, and brings international experience that includes serving as the head women’s coach at the 2017 World University Games and 2013 Duel In The Pool.
This will be her first time serving in a head coaching role at the World Championships, having been a member of the staff at the 2022 championships in Budapest as an assistant.
It will also be the first time a woman has been selected as the head coach of a U.S. team at either the Olympics or World Championships (LC) since Teri McKeever led the women’s team at the 2012 Olympics in London.
In addition to coaching the college team at ASU, Bowman is also leading a strong post-grad group of professionals that saw the recent addition of Olympic medalists Simone Manuel, Regan Smith, Chase Kalisz and Jay Litherland. Other U.S. Olympic medalists training in the group are Hali Flickinger, Olivia Smoliga and Ryan Held.
All of those names will be in the hunt for qualification at Worlds, with Smith, Flickinger and Kalisz being the leading candidates after winning individual medals last summer in Budapest. Held was also on the team last year, winning three relay medals, and Manuel, Litherland and Smoliga were all on the Tokyo Olympic team.
Capitani currently coaches Tokyo 2020 women’s 100 breaststroke Olympic champion Lydia Jacoby and women’s 1500 free Olympic silver medalist Erica Sullivan at Texas, and in addition to the NCAA squad, she also has accomplished pro Leah Smith in Austin, who is coming off of winning two medals at the 2022 World Championships.
At the 2022 Worlds, University of Florida head coach Anthony Nesty was named head coach of the men’s team, while University of Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo led the women’s team.
Assistant coaches for the U.S. team will be named after National Championships—the selection meet for the World Championships—which will run June 27 – July 1 in Indianapolis.
The 2023 World Aquatics Championships will run from July 14-30 in Fukuoka, Japan, with the pool swimming competition running during the second week (July 23-30).
I am still mind boggled that Bob’s involvement with Sean Hutchinson and the texting scandal with the Burckles was just swept under the rug.
Yay two new coaches to blame when relays don’t go according to plan!
Don’t they normally still win though?
And they set 4×100 relay world record at world championships.
Just something to think about.
What does the head coach do day to day or in the year/ months leading up to the meet?
It’s possible (but hopefully not likely) that the only male at WCs who’s actually trained by the US Men’s coach will be swimming for France, and the only female at WCs who’s actually trained by the US Women’s coach will be swimming for Germany. 🤯
It’s always “possible” that a HC has a bunch of swimmers miss the team. Trials are competitive and a lot of races can go many different ways. I’m guessing that this being announced far ahead of trials means it doesn’t really matter if they have multiple athletes participating or not.
Sure, and I very much expect that some combination of Kalisz, Held, House, Sullivan, Jacoby, L. Smith will make the team. I just thought it would be weird, so I mentioned it.
+Pash and Luther
Jarrod Arroyo swims for Puerto Rico. Kos now also.
Arroyo hasn’t done much since he started at ASU.
He has an other Olympian in the team, but he will be swimming for Hungary😁
Really glad Capitani is getting recognition. She doesn’t get nearly as much press as she deserves with how well Texas women have done recently.
The Bowman hypetrain keeps rollin onward. So now he has to stop coaching Marchand because that is like training the enemy to kill you in battle….at least thats what Carson Foster told me
Eddie Reese trained Joe Schooling, touche
Eddie doing this denied Phelps and the other 2 guys gold medals
Wouldn’t be the first French swimmer that he’s ruined.
Who cares if the pedo was ruined
in hindsight yes but before the Agnel news came out your opinion was probably the opposite.
Happy to see Carol getting this opportunity! Texas women have been killing it the last couple years.
When do they typically announce the Olympic head coaches? I wonder if Bowman, Capitani, DeSorbo and Nesty are on the shortlist, with 2022/2023 Worlds being used as Olympic head coach auditions
Durden once made a joke with me during an interview about being head Olympic coach about it being a “one and done” type of role. USAS hasn’t repeated a head Olympic coach since Eddie Reese’s last time in 2008 (aside from Catherine Vogt for open water). That has me leaning toward Bowman not being named again.
My guess would be DeSorbo/Nesty as men’s/women’s head coaches with Capitani starting to get primed for 2028.
and Margo Geer at some future point if Alabama continues the way they seem headed.
Hot take!
I mean the retirements of Dupre and Scott in the last week definitely don’t help Alabama’s momentum.
I do agree that she’s done very well with the very bad hand she’s been dealt at Alabama – I don’t think any of us expected her to do as well as she’s done after Coley left the program
Very bad hand? As in being left with the most talented women’s team in program history?
Ozzie.
Quevedo.
You should go to open mike night at your local comedy club
Feels kind of like Bowman is in a second act of his elite coaching career, though.
Does this Mean Bob won’t be able to be with Marchand during Worlds?