The four-time Olympic champion says “have a blast» in Asia where his relative anonymity allows him to breathe before the World Championships in Budapest, which will take place from December 10 to 15.
After the excitement of the Paris Olympic Games, Léon Marchand said “have a blast» at the World Cup in Asia, a competition which naturally induces less pressure in countries where “person» doesn’t know him.
For his return from a break that he wanted “longue», the four-time Olympic champion chose a smooth return to this format which first took him to Shanghai, China, before Incheon, South Korea, where the events ended on Saturday evening.
«There was so much pressure on the Olympics that I think I really need to ease up for the upcoming season», Confides the Toulouse native, who has become a world star thanks to his exploits in Paris. “It makes me feel good to compete with much less at stake», he adds, about this particular tournament played on points over three stages for which he received an invitation, like around ten other leading swimmers.
“No one recognizes me so that makes me feel good”
An opportunity for the 22-year-old Frenchman to return to a less heated climate and take advantage of his relative anonymity in Asia, before looking ahead to the World Championships in Budapest, from December 10 to 15. “Between China and Korea (…) I can walk around peacefully, I can be spontaneous, I do what I want, no one recognizes me so that makes me feel good, it’s not like France».
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A few groups of French supporters were certainly present in Incheon to see him win all his finals. But in the end he was notnot too busy», except when leaving the pool. Even inside, the local public was often much louder when the South Korean and Chinese swimmers were announced, even more so in the event of success, than for him, despite his status as a great champion.
We had to wait for the arrival of excited French fans for the last two days of racing before hearing “Come on Leon!», in a country where swimming is far from being a leading sport.
“I’m having a blast”
A perfect environment, in short, for the sidelines, especially with other big names, usually his opponents, whom he could meet for the first time outside of the competitive framework.
«International swimmers who are all Olympic medalists, medalists at the World Championshipshe recalls, so it’s so good, I met people, I made new friends and we spend a lot of time together, we do activities, we visit, we go shopping…»
And to compete for the first places in the evening. “I don’t expect much from what I’m doing at the moment, I’m having fun, I’m trying to repeat the races (…) it’s not the same approach as at the Games so I think that I needed it to revive me».
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Despite lower expectations for results, he considered his results satisfactory at the end of the second stage of this World Cup, which will finally take him to Singapore (October 31-November 2).
In four swims, the Toulousain won everything, the 100, 200 and 400 m, like in Shanghai, setting a French record each time.
Ultimately, performance is never far away: “There are still the World Championships in December, where I will try to set the best times, try to really sharpen myself, to do a real period of training load before, when I return to France (… ) so there will still be issues at stake».
