Léon Marchand Fulfills the Hopes of His Nation with a Swimming Gold in 400 IM; The Silver Goes to Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita

AP

10:54 JST, July 29, 2024

NANTERRE, France (AP) — Leon Marchand carried the comparisons to Michael Phelps and the hopes of a nation on his broad shoulders.

The 22-year-old Frenchman handled it all with ease, setting himself up to be one of the biggest stars of the Paris Olympics.

With a flag-waving crowd cheering his every stroke, Marchand delivered a swimming gold for France with a dominating victory in the men’s 400-meter individual medley Sunday night.

Marchand was ahead as soon as his head popped from the water and he steadily pulled away from the field in what was essentially two separate races: Marchand going against the clock and everyone else competing for silver and bronze.

“I started very, very fast,” he said. “I didn’t look at the other lanes. I was focused on myself.”

Marchand was under world-record pace on the final turn but faded a bit coming home, touching in 4 minutes, 2.95 seconds — an Olympic record, but just shy of his own world mark of 4:02.50. Marchand claimed that vaunted standard at last year’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, erasing the record held by Phelps for 15 years.

Not surprisingly, the young Frenchman has been mentioned frequently as the next Phelps — especially since he guided by the same coach, American Bob Bowman, who was with the most decorated athlete in Olympic history throughout his career.

Marchand lived up to those staggering expectations, for one night at least, and Phelps was in the building to witness it all as a member of NBC’s broadcast team.

Marchand was a bit delayed getting to the interview area. Turns out, he had to take a phone call — from French President Emmanuel Macron.

“He said that he watched the race with all of his family and they all screamed when I won,” Marchand said through a translator.

Marchand’s fans went wild

Of course, on Day 2 of swimming, everyone was playing second fiddle to Marchand.

La Defense Arena was packed with more than 15,000 fans, many of them with their faces painted in the blue, white and red of the tricolore banner.

Chants of “Léon! Léon! Léon!” and an impromtu rendition of “La Marseillaise” broke out in the rugby stadium a full 15 minutes before Marchand walked on deck for the first final of evening.

“It’s quite difficult to describe everything because it’s incredible for a swimmer to have this atmosphere in the pool,” Marchand said. “How could you not smile when you’re in front of 15,000 people? I want to thank all the French people who came tonight.”

Marchand, who trained in the U.S. while attending Arizona State University, came through with flying colors to capture the first gold medal of his career, but surely not the last.

The silver went to Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita, who finished nearly 6 seconds behind the winner in 4:08.62. American Carson Foster claimed the bronze at 4:08.66.

Marchand is just getting started in Paris. He’s entered in three more individual events.

“I was really proud of what I did tonight,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy it tonight, but then I’m going to relax because I have seven or eight days left.”

Marchand had to wait for everyone else to finish, then he climbed on the lane rope and pumped his left fist for an adoring crowd that packed a stadium normally used by famed rugby club Racing 92.

An appropriate venue for this performance.

No one raced faster than Marchand.