Léon Marchand continues to impress. The French swimmer won his fourth title at the French championships after his victory in the 200m medley this Wednesday in Rennes. One year before the 2024 Paris Olympics, Léo Marchand hits hard and gives France hopes of medals.
Léon Marchand was crowned French champion in the 200m medley on Wednesday in Rennes, winning a fourth title despite the fatigue accumulated by the series of races. Asked about his state of fatigue, the French swimmer replied: “When warming up, it was horrible, I was no longer advancing!” “So I kinda went and got that one,” he added. The 21-year-old Toulousain, a new nugget of tricolor swimming, won in 1 min 56 sec 25/100th, validating a new ticket for the World Championships scheduled in five weeks in Fukuoka, Japan, where he will defend his title .
New title in sight?
Marchand had already won three titles since the start of the competition: the 200m breaststroke on Sunday, the 200m freestyle on Monday and the 200m butterfly on Tuesday. The French swimmer had notably broken the French record for the 200m. The 21-year-old Frenchman, a new phenomenon in French and world swimming, swam in 2 min 06 sec 59/100, missing Australian Zac Stubblety-Cook’s world record by 64 hundredths (2 min 05 sec 95/100 ). He set the fourth best time in history over the distance and improved his previous French record by more than two seconds.
He will compete in the 400m medley on Thursday. “It’s not going to be easy, like all 400m medleys, whether you’re fit or not, but I’m going to hang in there,” he said. “I will try to do the job in the morning (in the heats) and let go of the horses in the evening (in the final).”