Three French records and especially a <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/archery-f-lisa-barbelin-achieves-a-new-indoor-french-record/" title="Archery (F) – Lisa Barbelin achieves a new indoor French record“>European record broken within a few hours of each other. Since the start of the short course World Cup stage in Shanghai, China, Léon Marchand has been keen to leave a mark. This Saturday, at the start of the afternoon, his name was once again displayed at the top of the podium in the 200m medley final. With, as a bonus, therefore, the European record (1′50′30′), stolen from the Greek Vazaios who had held it since 2019 at the Glasgow Euros (1′50′’85), the first competition contested by Marchand with the France A team.
The French record holder was already him since he had beaten Jérémy Stravius’ mark just a few hours earlier during the series (1′53′’53). This Friday, it was the French record for the 100m medley that he stole from Florent Manaudou (50”65). Not too bad for a recovery, a little over two months after his formidable exploits at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Toulouse native took a few weeks of vacation before returning for this Asian tour. So, even if the records are pouring in, he is still far from expressing his full potential over the distances. However, he hadn’t lined up in a small pool for five years!
The five-time Olympic medalist from Paris 2024 will be in Asia until November 2. He will compete in two other short course World Cup stages, in Incheon (South Korea) and Singapore.
