Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Who is French swimming sensation Leon Marchand? Why is he called 'the next Michael Phelps'?
Published 01/08/2024 at 00:03 GMT+1
When you start breaking Michael Phelps' records, dominating in the same events and - to top it off - are coached by his long-time mentor, you will inevitably be dubbed the 'next Michael Phelps'. France's Leon Marchand has taken the swimming world by storm and, in front of his home crowd, he has already claimed multiple gold medals.
'Spectacular!' - Marchand storms to stunning gold in 200m butterfly as French fans go wild
Video credit: TNT Sports
Leon Marchand is one of swimming's future household names and already has a big buzz around his name and achievements.
The 22-year-old has become one of the stars of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after claiming three gold medals over multiple events in the pool, in front of a roaring home crowd.
He began his campaign by destroying the competition in the 400m individual medley - where he won gold, almost six seconds in front of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita, who got silver.
As well as obliterating his competition, he also set a new Olympic record - previously owned by Michael Phelps - and came within half a second of his own world record.
The Frenchman then went on to win two gold medals in one day - 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke - taking both Olympic records in the process.
However, he is not done yet as he still has the 200m individual medley in his schedule and potentially a relay.
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Delight for France as Marchand wins 400m individual medley gold with Olympic record
Video credit: TNT Sports
WHO IS FRANCE'S SUPERSTAR LEON MARCHAND?
Marchand was born in Toulouse, to a family filled with Olympians; both his parents and uncle competed at the Olympic Games, all in swimming.
His father Xavier was also a world medalist in the 200m individual medley.
Naturally, he took up swimming from a young age and even though he stopped for a few years when he was a child, he quickly realised his destiny was to be in the pool.
Even though he didn't set the world alight as a junior, it was clear Marchand was talented and properly introduced himself to the world during the Olympics in Tokyo three years ago.
There, he competed in three individual events and a relay, with a best sixth-place finish in the 400m individual medley.
Marchand really stepped into the spotlight, becoming a true swimming superstar, at the 2022 World Swimming Championships in Budapest.
He walked away with three medals - two gold and a silver - set a championship record in the 400m medley and engraved his name in the French history books, with national records in all three events he medalled.
His last major performance came in at last year's World Championships, where he won three gold medals, was awarded the MVP award and capped it off with a huge world record in the 400m medley, erasing Phelps' mark from 2008 - at the time, the oldest existing swimming world record.
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'Unbelievable' - World record for Pan with 'dominant swim' in 100m freestyle final
Video credit: TNT Sports
why is he called 'the next michael phelps'
Following the 2021 Olympic Games, Marchand made the trip across the pond to study and swim at Arizona State University, under the guidance of Bob Bowman, the man who discovered and coached Phelps throughout his illustrious career.
Under Bowman's mentorship, Marchand took off, initially dominating the US collegiate circuit and then the major international competitions.
Naturally, the comparisons between Marchand and Phelps rose to the surface due to the sheer dominance that both have shown in the pool, the fact that they both compete in the same events and having Bowman as their coach.
When Marchand broke Phelps' 400m medley record, the American was present and one of the first to congratulate him on his achievement.
Just like Phelps, the Frenchman is at his best when swimming the medley and his strongest stroke is also the butterfly.
According to Bowman, these two hyper-talented individuals are very different personality-wise but when it comes to racing and approaching training, he finds them to be quite similar.
WHEN DOES LEON MARCHAND COMPETE AT THE PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES?
In front of his adoring home crowd, Marchand has already started his campaign with a monstrous performance at the 400m individual medley, winning the gold by almost six seconds, setting a new Olympic record, all while threatening his own world record.
- Marchand wins 400m individual medley in Olympic record time
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- Marchand makes history with stunning butterfly-breaststroke double gold, Pan breaks own WR
He followed that with a monstrous performance on July 31, where he won two golds in the span of less than two hours in the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.
However, his Paris adventures are far from over as he takes on the 200m individual medley. Besides his individual events, he is also part of the French relay pool for 4x100m medley relay.
marchand's paris 2024 events
400m individual medley - GOLD
200m butterfly - GOLD
200m breaststroke -GOLD
200m individual medley - Heats and Semifinals (August 1), Final (August 3)
4x100m medley relay - Heats (August 3), Final (August 4)
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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