Leon Marchand Breaks Olympic Record, Wins Gold in Paris

Leon Marchand captivated a lively home crowd at the Paris 2024 Olympics by setting a new Olympic record in the 400m individual medley and winning gold. He achieved this victory with a commanding margin of 5.67 seconds over Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita, thus claiming his first of what he hopes will be four individual golds at his home Games. Meanwhile, the USA’s Carson Foster took third place at the La Defense Arena.

In addition, Great Britain’s Max Litchfield, who finished fourth set a new British record with a time of 4:08.85. This result marked his third consecutive fourth-place finish in the event at the Olympics. Marchand, 22, who has been a prominent figure leading up to the Games, received enthusiastic support from the crowd. Although he fell just short of his own world record, he surpassed the Olympic best previously set by Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Furthermore, Leon Marchand, coached in the US by Phelps’ former mentor Bob Bowman had previously reached out to Phelps for guidance through a letter. Notably, Phelps attended the arena to witness Marchand’s victory. Looking ahead, Marchand will also compete in the 200m medley, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke in upcoming events.

The atmosphere at La Defense Arena buzzed with energy as the crowd passionately supported Marchand. The French tricolores waved as he entered and the national anthem played in anticipation of his performance. As Marchand completed the breaststroke leg, the crowd’s unified roar of “Allez” created an unparalleled ambiance.

Consequently, the noise peaked when he touched the wall to secure his gold medal while Litchfield visibly disappointed, lingered in the pool.