How “Leonmania” took over the country in one week

With his four individual gold medals and his stratospheric performances all week, the young 22-year-old swimmer has made a special place for himself with the public in just a few days. This is evidenced by the fervour in the stands and in the streets during each outing of the prodigy.

With his usual relaxed manner, Léon Marchand arrived to the cheers of the crowd at the Olympic swimming pool at the Paris La Défense Arena on Sunday, August 4, to compete in his sixth and final final of the Paris Olympic Games. Four supporters wore T-shirts bearing the letters L, E, O and N to welcome the new darling of French sport. After winning four individual gold medals, the 22-year-old swimmer this time won bronze with Florent Manaudou, Maxime Grousset and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, in the final of the men’s 4×100 m medley relay. In an arena heated to white-hot by the French exploits, the Toulouse swimmer received the cheers of the crowd one last time and wrote a little more of his legend.

If those familiar with the pools have seen the Léon Marchand phenomenon arrive in recent years, the general public has witnessed the emergence of a star in just a few days. “I heard about him a week ago, when I heard on the news that he was a Toulousain who was tearing everything up in the Olympics in swimming”confirms Medhi, 35, himself originally from the Pink City. But gradually, “Leonmania” took over the country. “It’s incredible what he does, it inspires respect”says Raphaël, 18, who also discovered Léon Marchand with the Olympic Games. “The discipline and motivation he must have to train every day is crazy!”

“He has achieved something quite exceptional. He is an extraordinary athlete, the French Michael Phelps.”enthuses Jérémie, a 35-year-old from Grenoble. The French swimmer, who has been training in the United States for two years, is also the new protégé of Bob Bowman, the former coach of the American swimming legend with 23 Olympic gold medals.

On Sunday, in the stands of the Olympic pool, as in each of his races, the encouragement punctuates each breath taken by the breaststroker. Two days earlier, for his fourth Olympic title, a group of friends even had fun reproducing his swimming movements, even if the synchronization leaves something to be desired. “Everyone, without exception, wanted to see him win, not just the French. There was one evening when there were about 9,000 Americans in the room and they were standing for Leon.”says Quentin Ramelet, journalist from the sports department of franceinfo.

Oscar, Léon Marchand’s brother, goes in the same direction: “What really struck me was the excitement around him, in the pool. Everyone was chanting his name.” After his passages on the podium, the supporters took up the chorus That I love you Johnny’s lyrics to celebrate each new gold medal won by the Frenchman, such as the evening of his historic double in the 200m butterfly and then the 200m breaststroke. Some supporters wanted to revisit the words of the The Marseillaiseby simply replacing “Let’s walk, let’s walk” with “Marchand, Marchand”.

The fervor extends beyond the Olympic swimming pool. In the streets, on the terraces of bars, the French have taken out their mobile phones at each of the prodigy’s finals. In Lyon, Camille and her family “improvise” a mini family fan zone in their living room in order to “follow all races” swimmer. At the Grand Palais, as in other sports venues, some events were paused due to the noise emitted by the French public. “Everyone took out their phones to log in to watch the 200m medley final.”says Laetitia, who was in the stands at the Stade de France on Friday. “The stadium was so noisy that the announcer called for silence for the men’s 400m decathlon which was supposed to start, but he had to give up and ask the athletes to stand up while waiting for Leon’s race to finish.”

If the young pool prodigy has gained such popularity in a week, he also owes it to his personality. “He is approachable, we have the impression that he is not doing this for the money, but really for the medal and that it represents something for him”Celine believes. “He is ultra-humble. He shows his joy, but without excess. So he is someone we also want to highlight through his values. He did well to continue swimming.”adds Valentine, a 28-year-old Parisian. In the midst of doubt and close to burnout, the French swimmer actually almost ended his career four years ago. He then called on a mental trainer before picking himself up again. “It’s incredible what he did. He has a hell of a mind and he seems really nice.”smiles Cécile, arriving Sunday at the Paris La Défense Arena.

“I am proud to be French thanks to him.”

Cécile, supporter of Léon Marchand

to franceinfo

At the Club France, located in the Parc de la Villette, the public was on their feet for each race of the new king of swimming. “This man is a fish, he is extraordinary. It may seem silly, but, in addition, he seems nice with his youthful face, he does not take himself seriously”confides Marie-Caroline, behind the stand of the Ministry of the Interior. The young woman, “full on” did not miss a single race of the Frenchman. “I will miss it, it was my daily rendezvous.”

A sign of the new dimension taken on by the Frenchman, his Toulouse club, the Dauphins du TOEC, is already thinking about giving the name of its famous member to a future swimming pool, planned for 2026. On the swimmer’s family side, we “apprehends” a little bit now the sequel. “It’s weird. But we’ll do the best we can. I think his life will change a little and it’s up to him to handle it well.”says Xavier, the father of the young champion, a former swimmer and finalist in the 200m medley at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.