Power four! Léon Marchand completed his individual sweep at the Paris Olympics by winning the 200m medley on Friday, placing himself among the greatest swimmers in Olympic history.
Galvanised by a furious Arena La Défense, “King Leon” overcame the fatigue of three victorious campaigns – 400m medley on Sunday, an unprecedented 200m butterfly – 200m breaststroke on Wednesday – to win gold again.
In 1 min 54 sec 06, a new Olympic record six hundredths of a second off the world record, he irresistibly pulled away from the Briton Duncan Scott (1:55.31) and the Chinese Wang Shun (1:56.00).
The 22-year-old from Toulouse joins East Germany’s Kristin Otto and Americans Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps as the swimmer to have won four individual titles in a single edition of the Games.
“For me it was not possible to do this kind of thing. I had four chances to win an Olympic medal, it was my dream. I did it from the first day, then I set myself a bit of a crazy challenge,” he said.
He is the first Frenchman to achieve such a feat, going in less than a week from the little prince of world swimming to the new icon of French sport, making an entire country rejoice.
“State of grace”
“It was crazy, once again. The crowd was there again, it was my last individual final. I said to myself ‘really, enjoy it'”, rejoiced the four-time Olympic champion, who admitted on Thursday to having heavy legs and short nights but displayed an intact ambition.
Judging by the devastating length of his runs, which were still decisive on Friday in widening the gap before the backstroke and the crawl, and the regularity of his arm pulls chanted by the crowd, the marathon runner of the pools had kept something in his veins.
The epic is not over since the swimmer will dive back into both the men’s 4x100m medley (heats Saturday morning and final Sunday evening) and the final of the mixed 4x100m medley Saturday evening, announced Nicolas Castel, one of his coaches.
“If Léon can get into the relay, it’s true that he’s going to scare the others, he’s in such a state of grace that you never know what can happen,” predicted Marie Wattel after the series, in the blue relay crawl.
In the wake of Phelps
Exploits that have even aroused the admiration of his rivals. “What he has done during the week is quite sensational,” said his runner-up in the 200m individual medley, the Briton Duncan Scott. “It’s not as if he just wins races, he dominates them.”
Although they impressed with their magnitude, Marchand’s performance in Paris was anything but a surprise.
After a promising first Olympic Games concluded with a final three years ago in Tokyo, his career took a serious boost in 2022 at the World Championships in Budapest. At 20, he left Hungary with two world titles and a silver medal, before confirming the following year at the World Championships in Fukuoka with three new crowns, in the 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m medley, making a date for Paris.
It was especially in this last race that the young Frenchman made his mark, smashing the world record for the distance in 4 min 02 sec 50, which until then belonged to the absolute swimming legend, Michael Phelps.
The American had set it at the Beijing Games in 2008, in 4 min 03 sec 84. He was 23 years old.
Although the comparison with the man with 23 Olympic gold medals makes little sense, the Toulouse native is in any case following in the footsteps of the American, since he has been training for three years in the United States under the orders of his former mentor, the illustrious Bob Bowman.
As a symbol, it was from the hands of Phelps that Marchand received his gold medal in the 400m medley on the podium at the Fukuoka swimming pool.
“Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time, so of course it’s pretty special for me,” Marchand said with a huge smile. “I met him this morning for the first time, it was pretty funny.”
On Friday, he added: “Michael is a legend, he changed the sport forever and now I’m working with his coach. It’s been incredible.”
” So happy “
As a result of his exploits, the Toulouse native had arrived in Paris with a new stature. But not enough to intimidate him, quite the contrary. “I like it [être vu comme le favori]. Before I didn’t like it too much, I didn’t want to show myself, but I think now I see it more as a challenge. […] “It’s exciting for me,” he said.
Surrounded by a mental trainer for several years, the Toulousain, who comes from a family of Olympic swimmers, had in any case anticipated expectations.
“I trained mentally for it and I think I did well. It’s something I’m proud of, I’m only 22 and it was a lot of pressure on my little shoulders.”
The deafening din of the audience did not seem to inhibit him, but rather to transcend him. “I am so happy!” he repeated several times during his week in Paris. “The French public has been incredible with me, I am really lucky to be in good shape this week.”
Having become a star in a matter of days, he also says he is aware that his life should no longer be the same from now on. “I have shared moments with people, I see signs everywhere, people are behind me,” he appreciated. “My status will change. I will try to adapt, but it will not be easy.”