Léon Marchand poses on the podium after winning Olympic gold in the 200m medley
Image: Keystone
Léon Marchand was the darling of the swimming arena with more than 10,000 fans
Image: Keystone
Competitors often only saw Léon Marchand from behind
Image: Keystone
Has always won at least one gold medal at the Olympic Games since 2012 in London: American Katie Ledecky
Image: Keystone
Canadian Summer McIntosh is only 17 years old - and already a three-time Olympic champion
Image: Keystone
Léon Marchand poses on the podium after winning Olympic gold in the 200m medley
Image: Keystone
Léon Marchand was the darling of the swimming arena with more than 10,000 fans
Image: Keystone
Competitors often only saw Léon Marchand from behind
Image: Keystone
Has always won at least one gold medal at the Olympic Games since 2012 in London: American Katie Ledecky
Image: Keystone
Canadian Summer McIntosh is only 17 years old - and already a three-time Olympic champion
Image: Keystone
As a four-time Olympic champion, Frenchman Léon Marchand is the high-flyer of the swimming competitions in Paris. Other influential figures in the Olympic pool are Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky.
05.08.2024, 09:01
05.08.2024, 09:12
SDA
Léon Marchand, the hero of the French
The 22-year-old from Toulouse caused pure ecstasy among French fans with his successes in the first week of the Olympics. Marchand had been expected to win two or even three Olympic medals beforehand. But four gold medals? All the more madness when the "Roi Léon" (King Léon), as he is called by his admirers in France, won all of these successes in individual races and not in relay races. This is a historic achievement and gave Marchand access to an exclusive circle. Previously, only the US duo Mark Spitz (1972) and Michael Phelps (2004 and 2008) and East Germany's Kristin Otto (1988) belonged to this circle. However, Phelps triumphed not four, but five times in the singles in Beijing in 2008.
What makes Marchand's successes even more remarkable is that he achieved them in three different lengths. In particular, the double of 200 m dolphin and 200 m breaststroke - on the same evening - is unprecedented. Even the record-breaking swimmer Phelps had never achieved two individual triumphs on the same day on his way to 23 Olympic victories. Marchand's triumphs sent the more than 10,000 fans in the swimming hall into raptures. France's President Emmanuel Macron was also visibly pleased as he watched his fourth gold medal on Friday evening from the stands - and was probably dreaming of his young compatriot's popularity ratings.
Marchand is an exceptional swimmer who is celebrated in his home country as a "hero of the Games" and a "giant of the pools". The comparison with Phelps makes little sense, but in one area the Frenchman is moving in the slipstream of the superstar from Baltimore: he has been training in the USA for three years under Bob Bowman, who had already accompanied Phelps during his successes. While he didn't particularly enjoy the role of favorite in the past, Marchand now sees it as an exciting challenge that has to be accepted. "I prepared myself for this role and was able to handle it well. I'm proud because I'm only 22 years old and there was a lot of pressure on my narrow shoulders."
Katie Ledecky, the perennial favorite from the USA
In contrast to Marchand, the 27-year-old from Maryland was already one of the legends of swimming before the Summer Games in Paris. With her triumphs in the 800m and 1500m crawl, Ledecky increased her total to nine Olympic gold medals - more than any swimmer before her. She is happy with what she has achieved in her career, says the 21-time record-breaking world champion.
Nevertheless, the American, who celebrated her first Olympic victory in the 800 m crawl as a 15-year-old in London in 2012, is not thinking about retiring just yet. "As long as I have enough energy, I'll give it my all," said Ledecky when asked about the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Back in June, on the occasion of the US trials, she even said that she "feels more joy every year". An astonishing statement in a sport that for many outsiders is characterized by monotony and loneliness during training.
Top stars such as Phelps or the multiple Olympic champions Caeleb Dressel and Adam Peaty fell into depression at some point in their careers. Not so Ledecky, who has shown no signs of fatigue for more than a decade - regardless of whether she dominates the competition, as she did in Rio in 2016, or - as she did in Tokyo three years ago against Ariarne Titmus - loses out for the most part.
Summer McIntosh, the carefree Canadian
Little was missing and the 17-year-old from Toronto would have emerged from the Olympic pool in Paris with four gold medals, just like Marchand. Like the Frenchman, McIntosh triumphed in the 200 m dolphin, 200 and 400 m medley. However, in her fourth individual event, the 400 m crawl, she had to settle for silver, a few tenths behind Australia's Titmus.
The Canadian first came into the international spotlight in 2021. At the age of 14, she was the youngest Canadian Olympic participant in history in Tokyo. With fourth place in the 400 m crawl, she came very close to winning her first Olympic medal. Just one year later, McIntosh, who like Marchand trains in the USA, won her first two of what are now four world championship titles.
