Paris 2024: Leon Marchand takes Michael Phelps' Olympic record to win gold in men’s 400m individual medley
Updated 28/07/2024 at 23:23 GMT+1
The French crowd roared home their favourite, as Leon Marchand secured an Olympic record and a gold medal in the men’s 400m individual medley. Torri Huske took gold for America in the women's 100m butterfly. discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
Delight for France as Marchand wins 400m individual medley gold with Olympic record
Video credit: TNT Sports
Leon Marchand lived up to the pre-race hype by powering to an Olympic Games record in taking gold in the men’s 400m individual medley.
The Frenchman was one of the big hopes of Paris 2024 for the host nation, having set the world record at the World Championships in 2023.
Marchand led early in the butterfly leg and was never headed, as he pulled further and further clear of the rest of the field.
On occasions in the race, Marchand was on track to break his own world record of 4:02.50.
On the crawl leg, Marchand slipped off the pace but still stopped the clock in a time of 4:02.95 - lowering the Olympic record of Michael Phelps.
There could be further glory for Marchand in La Defense Arena, as he will also go for gold in the 200m individual medley, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.
While there was joy for Marchand, Britain’s Max Litchfield cut a distraught figure after narrowly missing out on a medal in fourth place.
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There was an American one-two in the women's 100m butterfly, but pre-race favourite Gretchen Walsh was forced to settle for silver behind Torri Huske.
Duncan Scott and Matt Richards will have a shot at gold after making it through from the semi-finals of the men’s 200m freestyle.
Anghard Evans advanced to the final of the women's 100m breaststroke. She finished fourth in her heat in a time of 1:05.99.
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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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