5 things to know about Leon Marchand, France’s Olympic swimming hero
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France's swimming sensation has three golds at the Paris Olympics and is gunning for a fourth.
PHOTO: AFP
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Frenchman Leon Marchand is now the biggest name in his home country, after achieving what no other swimmer had done in the history of Olympic swimming on July 31.
In just under two hours, the 22-year-old swimmer won gold medals in the 200m butterfly and breaststroke events
The swimming sensation now has three Olympic titles – having clinched the 400m individual medley on July 29 – and is gunning for a fourth in the 200m IM.
Who is “King Leon”? The Straits Times has five facts about France’s latest sports hero.
1. A swimming family
Leon was born to Xavier Marchand and Celine Bonnet, both French medley swimmers who represented France internationally, including at the Olympics.
Xavier competed in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, earning top-eight finishes in editions. His mother Celine competed in Barcelona 1992, with her best finishes being 14th in two of her four events.
Both parents have won gold medals – Xavier and Celine were 200m individual medley champions at the 1997 and 1991 Mediterranean Games respectively.
2. Computer science geek
Before turning professional, Marchand was a computer science major at Arizona State University (ASU), where he reportedly received perfect or near-perfect grades in his semesters at the school.
He was already famous by the time he was at ASU, having been asked by a computer science classmate for an autograph – on a page torn out of a notebook.
In a 2023 interview with ASU News, he said: “In class, I had to listen a lot just to understand.”
3. Hot-cold love affair with swimming
In the same interview, Marchand also shared that he quit swimming when he was seven because the water was too cold.
The young Marchand was too skinny and did not enjoy being in the pool, only returning to the sport two years later.
During that time, his parents encouraged him to pick up other sports, with Marchand even trying his hand at rugby – he returned to swimming after realising that he was better in water than on land.
Leon Marchand of France receives his gold medal for the 200m breaststroke event at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Aug 1.
PHOTO: REUTERS
4. ‘So many similarities’ with Phelps
Marchand has one thing in common with American swimming legend Michael Phelps, both athletes share the same coach – Bob Bowman.
The comparisons do not stop there, as Phelps has said that like Marchand, he too faced doubts from critics when he first started swimming competitively, before proving them wrong and becoming the most successful Olympian of all time.
Many had doubted that anyone, less Marchand, could break Phelps’ Olympic records, but Marchand did just that in his second Olympic outing.
On The Pat McAfee Show, Phelps said: “He and I have so many similarities.”
5. Tough Olympic debut
Marchand made his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, where he competed in four swimming events, with his highest finish a sixth-place in the 400m individual medley.
However, in the two years before Paris 2024, he stepped up his performances in the pool. In 2022, he won two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) golds and became world champion in the 200m and 400m individual medley.
In 2023, he earned three NCAA golds and successfully retained his two world titles – also becoming champion in the 200m butterfly.
