Paris [France], August 1 (ANI): Leon Marchand, the 22-year-old French swimmer did the unthinkable at Paris Olympics 2024.
Leon, trained by Michael Phelps’ former coach Bob Bowman, showcased an epic performance, winning two gold medals, one in the 200-meter butterfly and the other in 200 breaststroke.
He dethroned a reigning Olympic champion for the second time within two hours, taking his second Olympic gold of the day in an Olympic record time of 2:05.85.
With this stellar performance, Marchand became the first French swimmer to ever win three gold medals, and he did it all within four days in front of his home crowd at the Paris La Defense Arena.
“Everyone was telling me it was impossible,” Marchand was quoted by Olympics.com as saying.
But it was his coach, Bowman who encouraged him.
“Gave me the confidence I was lacking,” Marchand said.
“It was insane. The 200m butterfly was a crazy rivalry,” Marchand said of his first gold medal race of the day.
Marchand also discussed his strategy.
“I use a very good strategy. I succeeded in staying close to [Hungary’s Kristof Milak] and getting ahead of him in the last metres. The crowd was on fire. It was insane to live this as a French person. I am so happy,” he added.
He mentioned clearly that he succeeded in staying close to Kristof and got ahead of him in the last metres.
He also appreciated the French crowd for being so supportive and showing up in large numbers.
Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook entered the later 200m breaststroke race as the reigning Olympic champion but took the silver medal with a time of 2:06.79, finishing 0.94 seconds behind Marchand. It was Stubblety-Cook’s record from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that the Frenchman broke on Wednesday night.
“I was stoked at that result,” Stubblety-Cook said after the race.
He praised Leon for his competitiveness.
“Leon is like an ultimate competitor. I left nothing out there so I can’t complain. Silver for me, to get back on the podium after Tokyo, I’m content with that. There is still definitely more. I’d like to get quicker than that,” he added.
He expressed satisfaction with his silver medal.
“It’s his moment. He’s hungry. He’s on the cusp of being one of the greatest swimmers. We’re just seeing the beginning,” the Australian noted.
He expects Leon to be the next big thing in swimming.
“Maybe if it was someone else, I wouldn’t be as happy for them, but I was stoked for him to have that moment in front of the home crowd. To see someone achieve that, I can’t complain,” he said.
Less than two hours earlier, Marchand defeated Hungary’s Milak in the 200m butterfly final. Marchand broke his Olympic record which he made in Tokyo 2020. (ANI)
