Léon Marchand has already entered French and world swimming legend by winning two finals less than two hours apart on Wednesday, on a memorable evening of the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Frenchman was eagerly awaited this Friday, August 2, for this third individual gold medal with the 200 m 4 swim.
Already a 400 m 4-swimmer, the Toulouse native attempted - and achieved - the impossible by taking part in two races on the same day: the 200 m butterfly and the 200 m breaststroke. At 20:37 and 22:31, Bob Bowman's protégé sang the Marseillaise twice.
No time to rest. After four hours' sleep, the Frenchman was back in the Nanterre pools for the 200 m 4-swim heats on Thursday morning. He finished second in his heat and qualified comfortably for the semi-finals that evening. At 9.40pm, Léon Marchand took off from the 5th lane and set the fastest time. On Friday, he was the clear favorite.
But why stop at four medals, three of them gold? Marchand is hungry for success and will be lining up for the men's 4x100 m medley relay final on Sunday evening (subject to qualification). A final surprise and potential 5th medal, he could join the French team in the final of the mixed 4x100 m 4-swim relay on Saturday evening.
Born on May 17, 2002 in Toulouse, Léon Marchand is the son of two former swimmers: Xavier Marchand, world championship silver medallist in the 200 m 4-swim in 1998, and Céline Bonnet, a backswimmer and 4-swim specialist, who took part in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. His uncle, Christophe, is also a former Olympic swimmer, and now sports director of a swimming pool in Clichy. Young Léon has obviously been swimming since he was very young, although he had a preference for judo and rugby before following in his parents' footsteps. In 2019, he was crowned French champion in the 200 m butterfly in Rennes, becoming the first French swimmer to achieve such a feat at the age of 17. A few months later, he won bronze medals in the 400 m medley and 200 m breaststroke at the 2019 European Junior Championships. At the World Swimming Championships in Budapest in 2022, he won three medals, including two golds.
With this fourth medal, Léon Marchand confirms his place among the greats of swimming and promises even better performances in the days to come - it's not all over yet!
