LEON MARCHAND. His name may not tell you much, yet Léon Marchand is the spearhead of the new generation of French swimming and is aiming for a medal at the Worlds.
He will be one of the attractions of these World Swimming Championships. Léon Marchand, 20, is the image of the new French generation who is aiming for a gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. For this world championship in Budapest, Léon Marchand will be involved in three events, the 400m 4 medley, his specialty, but also the 200m butterfly and the 200m medley, with medal ambitions as he explained for 20 minutes.
“”Scientifically” speaking, it is indeed on the 400m medley that I have the best chance. But I do not have a main stroke. I will try to do the best possible in each one. The “pap” (butterfly), it’s still my swim a little weaker compared to the 200 m medley and the 400 m medley but I think I can also do good times there and I’m not very far from a medal.”
Short biography Léon Marchand
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 4 swim in 1998, and Céline Bonnet, backstroker 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” obviously bathed in the pools from a very young age, even if he had a preference for judo and rugby before embarking on the footsteps of his parents, until he was crowned French champion in the 200 m butterfly in Rennes in 2019 making him the first French swimmer to obtain such a coronation at 17 years old. A few months later, he won a bronze medal in the 400m medley and the 200m breaststroke at the 2019 European Junior Championships.
How tall is Leon Marchand
The French swimmer, specialist in the 400m medley, is a big size in the world of swimming and measures 1.83m according to the latest data from the FFN.
Leon Marchand in Arizona
The day after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where he participated in his first Olympic final, taking 6th place, Léon Marchand packed his bags to join the University of Arizona State and a certain Bob Bowman, former mentor of a certain Michael Phelps. Since then, the young prodigy continues to progress and impresses 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 swimming pool, Léon Marchand has quite simply evolved since his departure for the United States as he explained to 20 minutes in June 2022. explosiveness. I am much more powerful. Mentally, I have gained autonomy and a lot of experience because I swam a lot in the NCAA (the university championship in the United States). I did a lot of races, a lot of relays. In competition, I now manage to throw myself on the wall to win the race. I swam a lot with Bob (Bowman). I improved in backstroke, in crawl. I have more assets than before. I just swim faster.”
Leon Marchand and Bob Bowman
Based in the USA, Léon Marchand is under the orders of the legendary Bob Bowman, former mentor of Michael Phelps and learns a lot from the latter. “I was very impressed at first. But he’s a really great coach, with a lot of experience. I know I’ll be ready for all competitions with him. And then he’s really relaxed. He’s had a lot of results , suddenly he is cooler, we have a lot of fun in training while knowing in which direction we are going, what we want to do. There is a connection that has been created between us.
Léon Marchand at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Like all French athletes, the goal is the 2024 Paris Olympics, Léon Marchand is no exception and dreams of being an Olympic champion. “My dream is to become an Olympic champion,” he explained. Whether it’s Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028, that’s my long-term goal. “