Leon Marchand Stuns with Double Gold Victory in Paris

Leon Marchand of France made history at the Paris Olympics, thrilling a home crowd with a stunning double gold victory in swimming. The 22-year-old first triumphed in the 200m butterfly, overtaking world record holder Kristof Milak of Hungary with a time of 1:51.71. Less than two hours later, he dominated the 200m breaststroke in 2:05.85, thus becoming the first swimmer to win both events in the same session, each in Olympic-record times.

Consequently, this feat established Marchand as a global superstar, drawing comparisons to legends like Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe. The 15,000-capacity indoor arena erupted with each of Marchand’s strokes, earning him accolades from figures like French President Emmanuel Macron and footballer Antoine Griezmann. Leon Marchand, trained by Phelps’ former coach Bob Bowman has been a rising star in swimming.

He gained prominence after breaking Phelps’ 400m medley world record last year. He will compete in the 200m medley next, seeking his fourth gold of the Games. Meanwhile, on the same night, American Katie Ledecky secured her eighth Olympic gold medal by winning the 1500m freestyle in an Olympic record time of 15:30.02. This victory tied her with Jenny Thompson as the most successful female swimmer in Olympic history.

Both have achieved a total of 12 medals. Ledecky, who has revolutionized distance swimming, will compete in the 800m freestyle on Friday, aiming for her ninth gold which would equal gymnast Larisa Latynina’s record as the most successful female Olympian. Additionally, Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle made headlines by winning the 100m freestyle in a world record time of 46.40 seconds, capping off an extraordinary night of swimming in Paris.