The swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympics led to the arrival of “Marchand-mania”
Since the start of the Games, local favorite Léon Marchand has stunned the crowds with his performances, where he won five medals, gold in his four individual events and a bronze in the men’s 4x100m medley relay.
He became the first male swimmer since Michael Phelps to win four gold medals at the same Olympics.
The French swimmer is the one who won the most medals among male athletes during this edition of the Olympics with four gold medals and one bronze.
Men’s 400 meter individual medley
Marchand gave France a swimming gold medal with a dominant victory in the men’s 400m individual medley. He was in the lead as soon as his head came out of the water and gradually moved away from the peloton, essentially competing in two separate races: one against the clock and the other against his rivals for silver and bronze.
Marchand was under world record pace going into the final turn, but weakened slightly towards the finish, clocking 4:02.95 — an Olympic record, but just short of his own world mark of 4: 02.50.
Men’s 200m breaststroke and butterfly
FILE PHOTO: Gold medalist Leon Marchand of France celebrates on the podium after winning and setting an Olympic record. | Photo credit: REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Gold medalist Leon Marchand of France celebrates on the podium after winning and setting an Olympic record. | Photo credit: REUTERS
Marchand went where no swimmer had gone before by winning gold medals in the 200m breaststroke and butterfly on the same night, both with Olympic records. He won his first medal of the day by setting a new Olympic record in the men’s 200m butterfly with a time of 1:51.21, breaking Kristof Milak’s record from the Tokyo 2020 Games.
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Breaststroke gold was his third medal of the evening and, at 22, he rewrote the script of what previously seemed impossible by becoming the first swimmer to medal in both of these demanding disciplines. Marchand led every meter of the breaststroke final, touching in 2:05.85 to set a new Olympic record and surpass Zac Stubblety-Cook’s previous mark from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Men’s 200m individual medley
Marchand won his fourth gold medal at the Paris Olympics by winning the men’s 200 meter individual medley in an Olympic record time.
Marchand is the first French athlete to win four individual, rather than team, gold medals at a single Summer Games and only the third swimmer to do so after Americans Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz.
4×100 meters medley men
The United States’ 64-year unbeaten run in the men’s 4×100-meter medley ended at the Paris Olympics with China winning in a time of 3:27.46.
Marchand, who swam the breaststroke leg, was overshadowed by China’s Qin Haiyang. France won the bronze medal in 3:28.38.
