A new chapter has been added to Marchand's festival in Paris. France's exceptional swimmer has won a fourth gold medal in the 200 m medley at these Summer Games.
Léon Marchand provided another goosebump moment on the third-last day of the finals in the La Défense Arena. Frenetically cheered on by the crowd, the 22-year-old almost swam to gold with a world record under the eyes of French President Emmanuel Macron. The Frenchman finished the four lane lengths in 1:54.06 minutes, just six hundredths off the 13-year-old record set by six-time Olympic champion Ryan Lochte from the USA.
Silver and bronze went to Scott Duncan and Wang Shun respectively, 1.25 and 1.94 seconds behind. The Briton (as runner-up) and the Chinese (as Olympic champion) had finished on the podium three years ago in Tokyo together with Jérémy Desplanches from Geneva.
Pushing boundaries
It was Marchand's fourth gold medal at the Summer Games in his home country. On Wednesday, he achieved the feat of becoming individual Olympic champion twice in the same evening - something not even record Olympic champion Michael Phelps has managed. In just under two hours, Marchand triumphed in the 200 m dolphin and 200 m breaststroke, a first in the disciplines with such different requirements. He launched his festival on Sunday with victory in the 400 m medley.
King of Paris
Léon Marchand proved this week that he is not wrongly celebrated as the greatest swimmer of our time, even though he is only 22 years old. He thrilled the crowds in Paris and has become a folk hero. He is celebrated as the king of swimming competitions, even of these summer games - at least by the French.
Whether Marchand can keep up with the 23 gold medals that Phelps has collected in his career remains to be seen. But he has definitely made a start.