Léon Marchand, the successful bet of a historic double at the end of an “indescribable” evening

An evening for eternity. For French swimming, first; the French sport, too; but above all, above all, for the new emperor of the pools. Léon Marchand took a brutal plunge into a dimension halfway between his reality as a 22-year-old with immense dreams and a paranormal world where the extraordinary swimmer has already climbed to the roof of Olympus three times.

By achieving, on Wednesday July 31, this double 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke never before achieved in the history of swimming – women and men combined –, the new triple Olympic champion has definitively left his mark on these Games.

“What we experienced tonight is indescribable, I don’t even know what to say,” Nicolas Castel, one of the mentors of the French genius since his debut at the TOEC Dolphins in Toulouse, almost fifteen years ago, tried to react, his face reddened by tears.

A few minutes earlier, and while we could still hear the incandescent stands of Paris La Défense Arena resuming The Marseillaise Once again, it was Bob Bowman who came to express “the honor of being alongside” by Léon Marchand. The man who “designed” Michael Phelps, the legend with 28 Olympic medals, paid a vibrant tribute to his new star.

“This double shows the incredible work he has done for many years. It’s not just tonight, but the way he has planned it all, it’s just incredible and I’m very proud of him. He now has to survive in the face of success. He doesn’t know what awaits him, but if he does it, it will be a good thing.”

Bob Bowman, coach of Léon Marchand and former mentor of Michael Phelps

to franceinfo: sport

Never before had a male or female swimmer won two medals in these two races, which were diametrically opposed technically and physiologically. A feat that even Michael Phelps had never been able to accomplish, not having the qualities to achieve it according to… Bob Bowman. “What I’m chasing is the promise I made to a kid three years ago, said the 59-year-old coach in his usual solemn tone. Because it was a challenge for him, but also for me, so to succeed is just exceptional.”

The main person concerned, for his part, did not realize, more than an hour after his second Marseillaise on the podium of the evening. Above all, there was this kid who had just opened “his Christmas present”happy to experience a moment outside of time, marked in particular by a wonderful communion with the 17 000 souls present within the enclosure. “It was already pretty crazy to be in the final of these two races, but what a blast! he first launched, liberated as never before, upon arriving in front of the press. The 200 m butterfly, there was a crazy rivalry but I adopted the right strategy. Then in the last meters, I heard this pool that was on fire! It was just crazy to experience that as a French swimmer. It gave me chills the whole race.”

To see him exult, however, we had to wait until he glanced at the scoreboard showing his name at the top, a second Olympic record of the evening to his credit (2’05″85). Before letting himself be lulled by the legendary tune of the boss Johnny Hallyday and his song “That I love you !” sung by the crowd a few seconds earlier. A suspended moment like there are few.

This moment, however, only lasted two minutes for the champion. Because, less than an hour later, Léon Marchand was already looking further ahead: “I have made many dreams come true since I have been here, but above all, I will have to refocus because tomorrow, I have the 200m medley!” His way of reminding everyone that his quest has only just begun.