Léon Marchand never ceases to impress: the Toulouse prodigy, already crowned last year in Budapest, retained his world title in the 400m medley this Sunday in Fukuoka (Japan), exploding the world record of legend Michael Phelps. Two new major performances added to a series of impressive figures which reflect the precocity of the tricolor swimmer.
21 ans
Born on May 17, 2002 in Toulouse, Léon Marchand celebrated his twenty-first candle a little over two months ago and is already a benchmark figure in French swimming, he who was crowned French champion for the first time in April 2019. Aged 16, he then became the first to win this title before celebrating his 17th birthday. A precocity that accompanied the protege of Bob Bowman, the former mentor of Michael Phelps, throughout his early career.
He notably played his first Olympic Games in Tokyo, in 2021, at only 19 years old, before winning his first world title at 20 years old. Now, just over a year from the big meeting of the Paris 2024 Games, the swimmer has become one of the figureheads of the ambitions of French sport.
His father: 1 world medal, 2 European medals
Raised in a family of swimmers, Léon Marchand was immersed in swimming from an early age. Indeed, he is the son of Xavier Marchand, double silver medalist in the 200m medley (at the 1998 Worlds and at the 1997 European Championships) but also holder of a bronze medal at the European Championships in Helsinki in 2000. The mother of the young Frenchman, Céline Bonnet, was also a professional swimmer, as was his uncle, Christophe Marchand (bronze medalist at the European Championships, 18 times champion of France).
11 times champion of France
On French soil, Léon Marchand was quick to prove himself. Since his first title of champion of France in 2019, the Haut-Garonnais has added ten other lines to his national record, and remains in particular on four consecutive titles in the 200m butterfly. A specialist in medley events, the young prodigy achieved a real harvest during the last French Championships, organized in Rennes in June, by winning the five events in which he had entered (200 m butterfly, 200 m medley, 400 m medley, 200 m breaststroke, 200 m freestyle).
3 world gold medals
For the World Swimming Championships either, Léon Marchand has no time to lose. At only 21, he now has three world championship titles, as many as Laure Manaudou. From his first participation in the competition in June 2022 in Budapest (Hungary), the Toulousain had won gold in his favorite disciplines, the 200 and the 400 m medley.
The French hopeful therefore added a third gold medal to his list on the first day of the 2023 Worlds in Fukuoka, retaining his title in the 400. A figure which could well increase in the coming days, Marchand still being engaged in three events, with the French record holder at the Worlds, Camille Lacourt, 4 times crowned in the individual, in his sights.
4 records in France, 1 in the world, 1 in Europe
His capital performances have logically led the Frenchman to explode several records. Before the start of these Japanese Worlds, the Occitan already held 4 French records, in his four usual events. But it was in his favorite discipline, the 400m medley, that Léon Marchand made an impression at continental and world level, by seizing the European record at the 2022 Worlds (4′04″28) before dropping the world mark this Sunday July 23. The latter, held for twenty years by the legend Michael Phelps, was lowered by more than a second by the French champion (from 4′03′’84 to 4′02′’50).
