My athletes have won over 30 Olympic gold medals, and I've coached...
Bob Bowman@coach_bowman
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Oct 03, 2026
~2 min read
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My athletes have won over 30 Olympic gold medals, and I've coached some of the greatest athletes in history.
Here's what every champion I've worked with has in common. 🧵
Here's what every champion I've worked with has in common. 🧵
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1. Every champion has the physical gifts. That's not what makes them a champion.
Michael had the wingspan and the flexible ankles. So does everybody else at that level.
What separates them is the mind, the temperament, and how emotionally connected they are to what they want.
Michael had the wingspan and the flexible ankles. So does everybody else at that level.
What separates them is the mind, the temperament, and how emotionally connected they are to what they want.
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2. Champions have a dream they really care about.
Nobody gets out of bed on a cold morning to swim the 200 free in 5:25. That's not exciting.
After Athens, Michael sat in my office and told me, "I want to be the best ever." Then he asked if I was in. I said I was already there.
The second he said it, I knew exactly what we had to do.
Nobody gets out of bed on a cold morning to swim the 200 free in 5:25. That's not exciting.
After Athens, Michael sat in my office and told me, "I want to be the best ever." Then he asked if I was in. I said I was already there.
The second he said it, I knew exactly what we had to do.
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3. Champions have a plan, and they build it backwards.
You start at the dream and work back to where you're standing today.
And you work in two time frames. With Michael I was looking eight to ten years out, and I also knew exactly what he had to get done that day.
You start at the dream and work back to where you're standing today.
And you work in two time frames. With Michael I was looking eight to ten years out, and I also knew exactly what he had to get done that day.
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4. Champions make the right decision every day.
Everybody knows the benefits of eating better. Everybody can find a plan.
It comes down to what you do RIGHT NOW.
Everybody knows the benefits of eating better. Everybody can find a plan.
It comes down to what you do RIGHT NOW.
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5. Champions always have something they're working on.
Allison Schmitt couldn't do a single pull-up. By 2012 she was doing three sets of eight with a 20-pound weight belt.
In London she won five medals, three of them gold.
Allison Schmitt couldn't do a single pull-up. By 2012 she was doing three sets of eight with a 20-pound weight belt.
In London she won five medals, three of them gold.
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6. Champions care more about the process than the outcome.
The process is what you control. The outcome depends on what everybody else does.
Nick Saban says don't look at the scoreboard, play the next play. We don't worry about what place we finish. We worry about the first turn.
The process is what you control. The outcome depends on what everybody else does.
Nick Saban says don't look at the scoreboard, play the next play. We don't worry about what place we finish. We worry about the first turn.
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7. Champions welcome challenges.
What you see on TV is the end of a long process full of ups and downs. You see the result and assume the rest was smooth. It never is.
What you see on TV is the end of a long process full of ups and downs. You see the result and assume the rest was smooth. It never is.
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8. Champions can do their normal thing when nothing around them is normal.
At the Olympics you're sleeping in the worst room you've had all year, with about eight people in it. So we train for the bad day on purpose.
At the Olympics you're sleeping in the worst room you've had all year, with about eight people in it. So we train for the bad day on purpose.
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9. Champions rehearse success every day.
They see it in their head every day, on the days when nothing is on the line. That's where the confidence comes from.
They see it in their head every day, on the days when nothing is on the line. That's where the confidence comes from.
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Get a clear picture of where you want to go.
Make the plan to get there.
Then show up every day and rehearse it.
Make the plan to get there.
Then show up every day and rehearse it.