Léon Marchand is back this Tuesday, July 30 with a crazy program.
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23:00 – Léon Marchand’s program this Wednesday
The Frenchman will therefore compete in two finals with two chances of a gold medal, even if the 200m butterfly looks difficult against Milak. Here are the times of his finals:
- 200m butterfly at 8:37 p.m.
- 200m breaststroke at 10:31 p.m.
22:19 – Successful sequence for Marchand
While he expressed some doubts about the possibility of running two big races in a single evening (200m butterfly, 200m breaststroke), Léon Marchand responded favorably to all the questions concerning this double “I saw this morning that it was possible. I did a good 200m butterfly, even if the last meters were not the best. I have never experienced such an atmosphere, today I experienced it 4 times. It’s great.”
22:14 – Merchant in demonstration
Very good race by Léon Marchand in the semi-final of 200m breaststroke. The Frenchman achieved the best time of the semis in 2’08”11. He beat the two Japanese Watanabe (2’09”62) and Hanaguruma (2’09”72)
20:53 – Marchand first in his half
First place for Marchand! The Frenchman wins the 200m butterfly in 1’53″50 ahead of Kharun the Canadian 1’54”01 and Zhirk the Estonian 1’54”22
1:45 p.m. – Which one to follow Léon Marchand tonight?
The Frenchman will be entered in 2… Or maybe 3 races with the 4x200m relay. On paper, the Frenchman is not scheduled, but maybe he will race despite his 200m breaststroke a few minutes before…
- 8:44 p.m. or 8:52 p.m.: 200m butterfly semi-final
- 9:59 p.m. or 10:07 p.m.: 200m breaststroke semi-final
- 10:15 p.m.: men’s 4x200m relay?
13:23 – Leon Marchand qualified
As in the 200m butterfly, Léon Marchand managed his race in the 200m breaststroke and went through to the semi-finals with the third best time overall. See you tonight.
11:17 – Leon Marchand 2nd
The Frenchman kept his strength in this first morning series. He finished 2nd in the series, and 6th overall.
11:14 – Start of the series for Léon Marchand
First series of the day for the Frenchman with the 200 butterfly.
11:02 – Marchand’s impasse on the 4x200m relay
He could have taken part in the race, but Léon Marchand’s extremely busy schedule meant he was unable to take part in the 4x200m freestyle.
Léon Marchand won the gold medal in the 400m medley for his first race at the Paris Olympics. The Frenchman left no chance to his opponents by finishing several seconds ahead at the end of a race that turned into a demonstration, an Olympic record to boot. The swimmer from Toulouse will be back in the La Défense pool on Wednesday to aim for new medals. Here is the rest of the program and all the practical information you need to know about his incredible Olympic challenge.
His complete program:
- 200m butterfly: final Wednesday from 8:00 p.m.
- 200m breaststroke: final Wednesday from 10:31 p.m.
- 200m medley: heats on August 1 and 2 from 11 a.m., final from 8:49 p.m.
- 4x100m relay: heats on August 9 from 11 a.m., final on August 10 from 7:12 p.m.
Léon Marchand was born on May 17, 2002 in Toulouse and is the son of two former swimmers: Xavier Marchand, silver medalist at the world championships in the 200m medley in 1998, and Céline Bonnet, backstroke swimmer and medley specialist, who notably participated in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. His uncle, Christophe, is also a former Olympic swimmer, now sports director of a swimming pool in Clichy. The young “Léon” has obviously been swimming in pools since he was very young, even if he had a preference for judo and rugby before following in his parents’ footsteps, until being crowned French champion in the 200m butterfly in Rennes in 2019, making him the first French swimmer to achieve such a title at the age of 17. A few months later, he won a bronze medal in the 400m medley and the 200m breaststroke at the 2019 European Junior Championships. At the World Swimming Championships in Budapest in 2022, he left with three medals, including two gold.
Who are Léon Marchand’s parents?
Léon Marchand comes from a line of swimmers. His mother is simply Céline Bonnet, a backstroke specialist and several times French champion. His father, Xavier Marchand, is vice-world champion in the 200m medley in Perth, Australia, in 1998.
How tall is Leon Marchand?
The French swimmer, a specialist in the 400m medley, is a big guy in the world of swimming and measures 1.83m according to the latest data from the FFN.
Why did Leon Marchand go to Arizona?
The day after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where he took part in his first Olympic final, taking 6th place, Léon Marchand packed his bags to join Arizona State University and a certain Bob Bowman, former mentor of a certain Michael Phelps. Since then, the young prodigy has continued to progress and impress the United States. He made headlines in May 2022 when he broke the NCAA record for the 200-yard medley, previously held by Caeleb Dressel. A performance that was congratulated by… Michael Phelps on Instagram.
Beyond the results in the pool, Léon Marchand has simply evolved since his departure to the United States as he explained to 20 minutes in June 2022. “In bodybuilding, I did more “weightlifting”, more explosiveness. I am much more powerful. Mentally, I have gained autonomy and a lot of experience because I swam a lot in NCAA (the university championship in the United States). I did a lot of races, a lot of relays. In competition, I can now throw myself on the wall to win the race. I swam a lot with Bob (Bowman). I improved in backstroke, crawl. I have more assets than before. I simply swim faster.”
Leon Marchand and Bob Bowman
Based in the USA, Léon Marchand is under the legendary Bob Bowman, former mentor of Michael Phelps, and is learning a lot from the latter. “I was very impressed at first. But he’s really a great coach, with a lot of experience. I know I’ll be ready for all the competitions with him. And he’s really relaxed. He’s had a lot of results, so he’s cooler, we have a lot of fun in training while knowing in which direction we’re going, what we want to do. There’s a connection that’s been created between us.”