Leon Marchand pulls off one of the boldest doubles in swimming history at the Paris Olympics
NANTERRE, France: In truth, those comparisons to Michael Phelps are not so far-fetched when it comes to Leon Marchand.
They are certainly not a burden for the 22-year-old Frenchman.
Marchand completed one of the greatest dual meets in swimming history on Wednesday night, winning the 200-meter butterfly and 200 breaststroke in about two hours. in front of the home crowd cheering every hit he made.
Two grueling races. Two very different strokes. Two Olympic records. Two gold medals.
Take Phelps, who did both during his eight-gold streak at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I'm a very shy person,” Marchand said. “I was like the center of attention during those two races. I tried to capture the energy of the whole crowd. They surprise me, push me to every finish.”
Exciting the French fans and claiming her importance even on a night where Katie Ledecky won another gold medal, Marchand claimed her second and third victories at La Defense Arena and inserted himself — with the Olympics not even a week away — as one of the faces. the game.
After rallying past world champion and Olympic champion Kristof Milák in the 200 fly in the final kick for years, Marchand made it look easy in the 200 breast.
He led all the way, touching in 2 minutes, 5.85 seconds as more than 15,000 fans — many holding up pictures of his smiling face — nearly blew the roof off La Defense Arena.
“Leon! Leon! Leon!” they screamed, a chant that was sure to continue throughout the night in Paris.
Marchand is going through something
Traveling most of the way in the 200 fly, Marchand outlasted Hungary's Milak in the final lap to finish in an Olympic record 1:51.71, touching first by just four hundredths of a second.
Marchand's final lap was nearly 0.66 faster than anyone else in the field — and 1.26 ahead of Milák.
“I've watched a lot of runs from him,” Marchand said. “I knew he had a lot of speed, a lot more than me, so I tried to get as close as possible and then push him to the end.”
The bronze was won by Ilya Kharun from Canada.
After her dominating victory in the 400 individual medley on Sunday, Marchand waved a finger and shook her head slightly, seemingly in disbelief.
Then, he rushes from the deck to another joy to begin his enthusiasm, although these preparations are interrupted by the inevitable return to the victory ceremony.
After a boisterous rendition of “La Marseillaise,” the other two medalists walked slowly around the pool, posing for their pictures.
Not Marchand. He rushed back to the practice pool. Another race had to go.
Ledecky's gold record
The American star made the most of his guest appearance on The Marchand Show in pursuit of his seventh Olympic gold medal – he also has a gold – and 12th medal overall with the runaway victory in the 1500 freestyle.
Ledecky, 27, tied fellow Americans Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin and Jenny Thompson for the most medals among women's swimmers. Ledecky already holds the mark for most individual gold medals by a woman at these Games.
“I try not to think about history,” Ledecky said. “But I know those names, the people I'm with, the swimmers I looked up to when I first started swimming. It is an honor to be named among them.”
Ledecky led from the start and pulled away, hitting an Olympic record of 15:30.02 in an event joining the women's program at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
It was similar to the race three years ago: Ledecky was at the front and everyone else was competing for silver.
France's Anastasiia Kirpichinikova finished nearly half a mile behind but thrilled the home fans by claiming second place on the podium in 15:40.35.
Isabel Gose of Germany took the bronze in 15:41.16.
After starting the Paris Games with bronze in the 400 freestyle, this result seems familiar to Ledecky.
Clearly overjoyed to be back on top, he splashed the water and repeatedly pumped his fists as he walked around the deck – a rare display of emotion for an athlete who performs like a machine.
“I know a lot of people expected that from me,” Ledecky said. “It's not easy. I mean, it's not always easy to follow through and you get the job done.
Marchand returns more gold
As Ledecky walked off the deck with his gold medal, it was time for Marchand to go on the second night,
No problem. He swept the field in the 200 stroke in an Olympic record 2:05.85, knocking off another champion from Tokyo.
Australia's Zac Stubblety-Cook took the silver, nearly a second behind in 2:06.79. Casper Corbeau of the Netherlands claimed the bronze.
“The most exciting part of this whole race is watching him complete it all and have his moments,” Stubblety-Cook said. “I think it's great. It's great for the sport of swimming and it's great to see the better half of 15,000 people chanting someone's name and watching them swim live.”
Marchand climbed out of the pool and stared at the board. She rubbed her mop of curly hair a few times, then threw her arms in the air.
His work was done, at least for a few hours. Next is the 200 individual medley, which begins with warm-ups on Thursday morning.
“I'm very proud of him,” said his coach, American Bob Bowman, who also coaches Phelps. “This is a very important and historic effort.”
China's Pan Zhanle set the first world record in swimming at the Paris Games
China's Pan Zhanle set his first world record at the Games, breaking his personal mark in the 100 freestyle.
She won in 46.40, easily eclipsing her 46.80 in February at the world championships in Doha.
It was an impressive performance considering the shallow pool at La Defense Arena, which was cited as the main reason there were no world records during the first four days of the meet.
Australia's Kyle Chalmers took the silver and Romania's David Popovici took the bronze.
Swedish gold for 5-time Olympian Sjostrom
Sarah Sjostrom made her fifth Olympic gold medal celebration by winning the 100 freestyle.
Sjostrom has pared his program at the last two world championships, swimming only the 50 free. He decided to enter the 100 at the Paris Games, and boy did he make that decision.
Her winning time was 52.16, giving the United States another silver medal — its competition rival — when Torri Huske finished in 52.29. Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey took the bronze.
