Leon Marchand achieves one of the most daring doubles in swimming history at the Paris Olympics
NANTERRE, France: Apparently, the comparisons to Michael Phelps were not far-fetched when it came to Leon Marchand.
They certainly weren't a burden for the 22-year-old Frenchman.
On Wednesday night, Marchand completed one of the most audacious doubles in swimming history, winning the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter breaststroke nearly two hours apart, before a home crowd that cheered his every stroke.
Two grueling races. Two very different styles. Two Olympic records. Two gold medals.
Take this, Phelps, who did several doubles and won a record eight golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I'm a very shy person,” Marchand said. “I was kind of the center of attention during those two races. I was trying to get energy from the whole crowd. They're great with me, they push me in every final.”
Thrilling French fans and also taking center stage on a night when Katie Ledecky won another gold medal, Marchand claimed his second and third victories at the Defense Arena and has established himself, less than a week before the start of the Olympics, as one of the faces of the Games.
After recovering and beating world record holder and reigning Olympic champion Kristof Milák in the 200 butterfly with a final kick that will go down in history, Marchand made it look easy in the 200 breaststroke.
He led the entire race, reaching altitude in 2 minutes 5.85 seconds, as more than 15,000 fans, many holding cardboard cutouts of his smiling face, nearly blew the roof off La Defense Arena.
“Léon! Léon! Léon!” they shouted, a chant that would surely continue all night long in Paris.
Marchand gets things started
Despite trailing for much of the 200 butterfly, Marchand overtook Hungary's Milak on the final lap, finishing in an Olympic record time of 1:51.71, missing out on first place by just four hundredths of a second.
Marchand's final lap was nearly 0.66 times faster than anyone else in the race, giving him a 1.26 lead over Milák.
“I’ve watched so many races from him,” Marchand said. “I know he has a lot of speed, a lot more than me, so I just tried to get as close as I could, and then push to the end.”
The bronze went to Canadian Ilya Kharun.
After his crushing victory in the 400 IM on Sunday, Marchand wagged a finger and shook his head slightly, as if he couldn't believe what he'd done.
He then rushed off the bridge to further thunderous applause to begin his warm-up, although his preparations were interrupted by his mandatory return for the victory ceremony.
After a raucous rendition of “La Marseillaise,” the other two medalists walked slowly around the pool, having their pictures taken.
Not Marchand. He hurried back to the training pool. There was another race to run.
Ledecky's Record-Breaking Gold
The American star made the most of her guest appearance on The Marchand Show by winning her seventh individual Olympic gold medal (she also has a relay gold) and 12th overall with a landslide victory in the 1,500m freestyle.
The 27-year-old Ledecky tied with fellow Americans Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin and Jenny Thompson for the most medals ever won by a swimmer. Ledecky already held the record for most individual gold medals won by a woman before these games.
“I try not to think too much about the history,” Ledecky said. “But I know those names, those people I'm there with, they're swimmers I looked up to when I first started swimming. So it's an honor to be mentioned among them.”
Ledecky led from the start and steadily took off, running an Olympic record of 15:30.02 in an event that has been added to the women's program at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
The race was similar to three years ago: Ledecky was far ahead and everyone else was competing for silver.
France's Anastasiia Kirpichinikova finished nearly half a lap behind, but thrilled the home fans by taking second place on the podium in 15:40.35.
The bronze went to German Isabel Gose with a time of 15:41.16.
After starting the Paris Games with a bronze in the 400 freestyle, this result looked more familiar for Ledecky.
She was clearly thrilled to be back on top, splashing water and pumping her fist several times as she walked across the bridge—a rare display of emotion from a stoic athlete who performs with the efficiency of a machine.
“I know a lot of other people expected this from me,” Ledecky said. “That doesn't make it easy. I mean, it's not easy to always get the job done and get it done.”
Marchand returns for more gold
As Ledecky was walking off the bridge with her gold medal, it was time for Marchand to go for his second of the night,
No problem. He blew away the field in the 200 breaststroke with an Olympic record of 2:05.85, beating another Tokyo champion.
This time, Australian Zac Stubblety-Cook settled for silver, nearly a second behind in 2:06.79. Bronze went to Dutchman Casper Corbeau.
“The most exciting part of that whole race is watching him soak it all in and have his moment,” Stubblety-Cook said. “I think it's awesome. It's awesome for the sport of swimming, and it's awesome to see the better half of 15,000 people chanting someone's name and watching the swim live.”
Marchand stepped out of the pool and stared at the scoreboard. He ruffled his curly hair a couple of times, then threw his arms in the air.
His job was done, at least for a few hours. Now it's time for the 200 individual medley, which begins with heats Thursday morning.
“I'm really proud of him,” said his coach, American Bob Bowman, who was also Phelps's coach. “It's a tremendous, historic effort.”
China's Pan Zhanle Sets First Paris Games Swimming World Record
Almost lost in all the hype was China's Pan Zhanle, who set the first world record of these Games, breaking his own record in the 100m freestyle.
She won in 46.40, easily beating the time of 46.80 she set in February at the world championships in Doha.
It was an impressive performance, considering the shallow pool at La Defense Arena, which has been cited as the main reason why no world records were broken in the first four days of the meet.
Australia's Kyle Chalmers took silver, while Romania's David Popovici took bronze.
Swedish Gold for 5-time Olympian Sjostrom
Sarah Sjostrom celebrated her fifth Olympics with a gold medal, winning the 100m freestyle.
Sjostrom had pared down her program for the last two world championships, swimming only the 50 freestyle. She decided to add the 100 at the Paris Games, and boy, did that decision pay off.
Her winning time was 52.16, with the United States settling for another silver medal, their eighth in the swimming competition, when Torri Huske finished in 52.29. Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong won bronze.
