Leon Marchand: ‘I have a lot to do in the swimming world’
Marchand produced his fourth and final gold two days later in the 200m IM in 1:54.06 to carve out his own chapter in the sporting annals – becoming France’s first Olympian to win four gold medals at a single Games.
He also joined Phelps (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008) and legends Mark Spitz (Munich 1972) and Kristin Otto (Seoul 1988) as the only swimmers to capture four individual golds at one Olympics.
Not to mention the bronze Marchand won in the 4x100m medley relay to cap a five-medal haul at his second Olympic Games. Talk about progress – at Tokyo 2020, he fared no better than sixth in any of his four races.
Marchand concedes his post-Olympic fame took a toll on him but the 23-year-old’s learned to cope with it.
Perhaps he should, as the fame won’t be going away anytime soon with his whole career still ahead of him. Even Phelps himself says Marchand could be the new Phelps.
And it all started with the summer of 2024.
“It was a lot to handle at first, but I got used to it because I stayed in France until December of last year,” Marchand said ahead of this year’s world championships in Singapore, where he smashed the world record in the 200m IM.
“But I also enjoyed it, and I know how to handle it better now. I know how to say ‘no’ better. I’m also still learning a lot. I definitely get a lot more peace when I travel out of France. I’m able to train better and just do my own thing like usual.
“Of course I want to break all the records in the next few years. I don’t know when that’s gonna happen, but I have a lot to do in the swimming world.”
Stay tuned.