CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the lead-up to the 2012 Olympics, Bob Bowman took an out-of-shape Michael Phelps and tried to ripen him in a hurry by placing him in marquee events like the Arena Pro Swim Series stop at Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center that was to run through Sunday.
Phelps won four gold medals and two silvers at the London Games, but Bowman, the head of the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, felt unsated. For him, those Olympics, his fourth with Phelps, left a lingering bad taste.
Bowman made a decision three weeks ago that seemed hasty but had been simmering for more than two years.