Leon Marchand wins 4th Olympic gold in swimming, sparking celebrations throughout Paris
NANTERRE, France: The celebration for Leon Marchand spread beyond the pool, quickly spreading throughout Paris.
At the Stade de France, which hosted the first evening of athletics, a huge ovation erupted when Marchand won his fourth Olympic gold medal. The roar was so loud that the first heat of the 400-meter decathlon was delayed.
At the French Olympic venue, around 20,000 people gathered outside to watch Marchand triumph in the pool, including 19-year-old Arthur Oursel.
“He’s a hero,” Oursel said. “He’s our hero.”
With French President Emmanuel Macron among more than 15,000 fans cheering him on in a rugby stadium transformed into a gymnasium, Marchand claimed another landslide victory in the 200-meter medley on Friday night.
“I don't think anything went wrong this week,” Marchand said. “It was just perfect.”
The 22-year-old French phenom left no doubt that he will be remembered as one of the biggest stars of the Summer Games in his home country. He finished in an Olympic record of 1 minute 54.06 seconds, narrowly missing 13-year-old Ryan Lochte's world record.
That was the only thing he failed to accomplish in six magical days at Defense Arena, after winning the 400 IM, 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke, the latter two about two hours apart in the same session.
Marchand became the fourth swimmer in Olympic history to win four individual golds in a single Olympic Games.
The others? Michael Phelps, who did it in both 2004 and 2008; Mark Spitz in 1972; and East German Kristin Otto in 1988.
Truly intoxicating company.
“It's crazy. Those guys are legends,” Marchand said. “I don't think I've figured it out yet. Maybe I'll figure it out in a few days.”
Silver went to Britain's Duncan Scott, with a time of 1:55.31, one point behind. China's Wang Shun took bronze with a time of 1:56.00, edging out American Carson Foster for a spot on the podium.
What a night for France
A packed house at La Defense Arena came to cheer on their favorite son once again. They chanted, sang “Sweet Caroline,” waved the French tricolor flag, and unveiled a huge cheer on the upper deck.
After Marchand touched the wall, he held up four fingers, one for each gold. He stepped out of the pool, clenched his fists, then held out his arms as if to say, “What more could you want?”
Not a thing.
He had done everything, more than live up to his nation's expectations and comparisons to Phelps, who was there to cheer Marchand on. What might have been a burden to some athletes only seemed to propel Marchand to even greater heights.
On Friday, during the celebrations, Macron shook hands with Marchand and sent him his congratulations via social media.
“The impossible is not French!” Macron wrote in French. “Four gold medals at home and a new Olympic record: it's historic. It's Leon Marchand.”
Marchand certainly enjoyed his moment, something his American coach Bob Bowman (Phelps' coach, to put it mildly) had encouraged him to do.
He led the fans behind the podium in applause before taking the top step once more. The crowd erupted into their most rousing rendition of “La Marseillaise” ever, though of course they had plenty of opportunity to work in the French national anthem this week.
Chants of “Leon! Leon! Leon!” filled the arena as soon as the anthem ended. Someone held up a sign that simply read “Merci Leon.”
“I am extremely proud,” Marchand said, “to be French.”
Australian Gold for McEvoy and McKeown
Before Marchand's triumph, Cameron McEvoy and Kaylee McKeown had won other golds for Australia.
McEvoy touched first in the 50 freestyle, denying Caeleb Dressel a repeat in swimming’s most frenetic event. McKeown followed with a win in the 200 backstroke, becoming the first swimmer to sweep the back in back-to-back Summer Games.
Asked if he could have imagined such an outcome, McKeown replied: “Not in a million years.”
McEvoy became the first Australian to win gold at these Games, and McKeown quickly took his country's total to seven golds, the most at an Olympics – three more than both the United States and Marchand, who is essentially a country unto himself.
McKeown stressed that this is an extraordinary moment for women's sports, following in the footsteps of athletes like Simone Biles and Caitlin Clark in elevating the visibility of female athletes.
“Not just Australian girls, but the world and women’s sport has been incredible this year,” McKeown said. “It’s amazing to be a part of it.”
McEvoy made it from one end of the pool to the other in 21.25, edging out Benjamin Proud of Great Britain by five hundredths of a second. Florent Manaudou of France gave the home crowd another thrill by taking bronze in 21.56.
Dressel, who won five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, finished sixth with a time of 21.61.
McKeown rallied again, just as she had in the 100 backstroke, to chase down perennial American runner-up Regan Smith. Her winning time was an Olympic record of 2:03.73, breaking the mark Missy Franklin had set at the 2012 London Games.
Another silver for Regan Smith
Smith touched down in 2:04.26 for the fifth silver medal of his career, to go along with a single bronze. He has yet to win gold.
Bronze went to Canadian Kylie Masse with a time of 2:05.57.
Smith insisted she was satisfied with the result, even if the gold medal remained an unattainable goal.
“If I had gotten a silver medal and been a second slower, I think I would have been very disappointed in myself because I wouldn't have given it my all. That's not what I was capable of doing,” Smith said. “That's one of my fastest times ever. I think I really gave Kaylee a run for her money and made it really close and exciting. So I'm stoked about that.”
Dressel can't do it
The American star qualified in two individual events and will not win a medal in either.
Shortly after placing sixth in the 50m freestyle, he returned to the pool for the semifinal of the 100m butterfly, another of the events he won in Tokyo.
Dressel failed to complete the grueling double, posting only the 13th fastest time and missing the final stage on Saturday night.
He led the United States to gold in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, winning the eighth gold medal of his career.
It was a disappointing performance for one of the biggest stars of the Tokyo Games, but not entirely unexpected considering what she had to go through.
A year after the 2021 Olympics were postponed due to the pandemic, Dressel quit swimming in the middle of the world championships.
He desperately needed a break to reconnect with his love of swimming, which is still a bit of a work in progress. Dressel seems much happier now, having welcomed his first child about five months ago, but he hasn't quite regained the wild speed he had three years ago.
“Obviously it’s not my best work,” Dressel said. “I had a lot of fun, but this wasn’t my best week. I don’t think I should back down from that.”
He still has one relay left in Paris, which will give him another chance to win the ninth gold of his career.
Dressel would like to end on a high note, because these Games have been “a little bit heartbreaking, a little bit heartbreaking for sure.”
After leaving the pool, she burst into tears.
