when the “Léon Marchand mania” takes over the Defense Arena – L’Express

He is building his own legend. This Wednesday, July 31, Léon Marchand entered the history of the Olympic Games by winning, in the same evening, two gold medals in two different events, finishing the 200 meters butterfly in 1 minute and 57 seconds and 21 hundredths, and taking first place in the 200 meters breaststroke, two hours later, in 2 minutes and five seconds 85. Before him, no swimmer had achieved such a feat – even American Michael Phelps, swimming legend and five-time Olympian with 28 medals, including 23 gold, had never competed in two individual finals so close together. When the medals were awarded, the emotion of the fans in the overexcited Paris La Défense Arena stadium was palpable. Their screams of joy, the Marseillaise sung at the top of one’s lungs, the applause lasting several minutes, the incessant “Léon” chanted at the top of one’s lungs and the tears of some fans bear witness to the historic nature of the event.

On Sunday, July 29, in this same arena and in front of 15,000 wild spectators, the champion already won his first Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter medley event, winning with a time of 4 minutes and 2 seconds 95, far ahead of his competitors. Above all, the Frenchman smashed Michael Phelps’ Olympic record, set in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics in a time of 4:3:84. “He’s been making us dream since Sunday. And we’ve just had another magnificent moment, I was on the verge of crying,” Antonin summed up as he left the stadium. In two hours, this young swimmer from Villeurbanne even lost his voice from shouting his admiration in the stands. “Honestly, I’ve never seen such an atmosphere in a pool,” he said.

From 8:38 p.m., the exact time of Léon Marchand’s arrival in front of the Olympic pool, an indescribable energy transcended the stadium. In unison, the thousands of spectators shouted the name of the Toulousain, the blue-white-red flags waved, the sound of applause was deafening. Row 5, the swimmer remained focused. For him, the stakes were colossal. Butterfly is not his favorite discipline, and his main opponent, the Hungarian Kristof Milak, was formidable – the reigning Olympic champion in the discipline broke the world record in 2022, with a time of 1:50:34. The tension was at its peak when the starting signal sounded. Léon Marchand plunged into silence – protocol required – then resurfaced to cheers. The race is tight: second behind Kristof Milak until the last 25 meters, the Frenchman accelerates at the end of the race, carried by a wild crowd. The stands shake when he finally takes back first place, and smashes his French record in 1:51:21, unlocking a new Olympic record at the same time. Léon Marchand has just won his second gold medal in three days, and the crowd is exulting.

“It has taken on a new dimension”

The evening, however, is far from over. Just enough time for the spectators to watch a few semi-finals and to savour the superb silver medal won by French swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova in the final of the women’s 1,500-metre freestyle, before Léon Marchand returns for his second final of the evening, in the 200-metre breaststroke. It is 10:33 p.m., the audience is in a trance and the general euphoria has not subsided for two hours. The swimmer, however, remains in his bubble. Thoughtful and precise, he does not let himself be distracted by the “Allez Léon” that resonate in the stadium. At the signal, he dives from line 4… Then dominates his opponents. As has been the custom since the start of the competition, the audience paces their breaths with encouragement, letting out in unison a powerful cry, a blurry mix of “Yeah” and “Allez!” when he catches his breath. For 2 minutes, five seconds and 85 hundredths, he raises the fans’ screams a notch, if that were still possible. With a one-second lead over his competitors, he wins gold for the second time that evening. On this last night of July, 15,000 people sing Johnny Hallyday’s “Que je t’aime” and one certainty hangs over the Paris La Défense Arena stadium: Léon Marchand has definitely entered the big leagues.

It’s been a few days now that the young man is no longer the “little prodigy” presented at the start of the competition, recognized by amateurs but still anonymous to most French people. In three events, he has become an Olympic superstar – one of those whose portraits adorn the front pages of magazines long after their exploits, and whose name is chanted in unison by all the supporters of the Blues. The work has paid off, and a career of solid gold is opening up for him. “We’ve been following him for a few years now, but now he’s taken on a new dimension,” comments Agathe, a former swimmer who came to support the young man at the last minute. The night before, this Parisian didn’t hesitate to pay 150 euros to attend this “historic” event. “If you had asked me to name a great French swimmer a year ago, I would have probably thought of Florent Manaudou or Maxime Grousset. Now, there is no longer any doubt: Léon Marchand is the hero of the Olympics!”, she confides. Dorothée and Vincent agreed to pay 500 euros a week ago for the chance to attend these finals, while Antoine and Kevin had brought out their best rooster costumes to come and support the swimmer.

Before winning three gold medals in four days, Léon Marchand was already the most successful Frenchman in the history of the world championships, with five gold medals won at the world championships between 2022 and 2023. He is also the first swimmer to have won three individual titles in the same championships, at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2023. Competition after competition, the young man dazzles, impressing the public as much as the most astute observers.

As he leaves the stadium, two gold medals later, Stéphane still has stars in his eyes. “We bought our tickets a year ago, and we didn’t expect such an apotheosis. We’ll tell our grandchildren what we just saw!”, promises this Parisian, who came with his wife. The couple will, of course, follow the rest of Léon Marchand’s career across the Atlantic – because the swimmer’s breathtaking performances quickly caught the eye of the best coaches in the world. Coached by Nicolas Castel at the Toulouse club Dauphins du TOEC de Toulouse until 2021, Léon Marchand has been training for three years with the Arizona State Sun Devils, in the United States, where he chose to study. While he has kept his long-time coach by his side, he has also been trained since then by Bob Bowman, the mentor of a certain… Michael Phelps. The swimmer’s path now seems all mapped out, and his speed has not finished making fans dream. On Friday, August 2, he should reign supreme in the 200-meter medley – his favorite discipline – over a distance for which he has already been crowned world champion twice. And on August 4, the Frenchman is also expected in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay. “We haven’t finished dreaming,” concludes Stéphane as he readjusts the blue-white-red goggles on his nose. Behind him, spectators on the way back are still chanting the name “Léon.”