Leon Marchand performed one of the most daring pairs in swimming history at the Paris Olympics
NANTERRE, France: It turns out those comparisons to Michael Phelps weren't far-fetched at all when it came to Leon Marchand.
They were certainly not a burden for the twenty-two-year-old Frenchman.
Marchand completed one of the most daring doubles in swimming history on Wednesday night, winning the 200-meter butterfly and 200 backstroke about two hours apart in front of a home crowd that cheered his every stroke.
Two exciting races. Two very different moves. Two Olympic records. Two gold medals.
Take that, Phelps, who made several pairs of his own while also winning a record eight golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I'm a really shy person,” Marchand said. “During those two races, I was kind of the center of attention. I tried to get energy from the whole crowd. They are amazing for me, they push me in every final.”
Exciting the French fans and exciting attention on a night when Katie Ledecky was chasing another gold medal, Marchand scored her second and third victories at La Defense Arena and herself – with the Olympics less than a week old – as one of the faces. games.
After rallying to beat world record holder and defending Olympic champion Kristof Milák in the 200 fly with a goal kick for the ages, Marchand made the 200 breast look easy.
He led all the way, touching down in 2 minutes, 5.85 seconds as more than 15,000 fans — many holding cardboard cutouts of his smiling face — nearly blew the roof off La Defense Arena.
“Leon! Leon! Léon!” they shouted, a chant that was sure to carry through the night in Paris.
Marchand gets it going
Marchand, who had been on the track for 200 years, edged Hungary's Milak in the final lap to finish in an Olympic record 1:51.71, touching first by just four-hundredths of a second.
Marchand's final lap was nearly 0.66 faster than anyone else in the field — and 1.26 ahead of Milák.
“I've watched so many races from him,” Marchand said. “I know he has a lot of speed, a lot more than me, so I just tried to get as close as possible and then take it to the end.
Canadian Ilya Kharun won the bronze.
After his dominating victory in the 400 individual medley on Sunday, Marchand waved one finger and shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he had done.
He then disembarked to another rousing cheer to warm up, though these preparations were interrupted by the obligatory return to the victory ceremony.
After a rousing rendition of “La Marseillaise,” the other two medalists walked slowly around the pool and posed for pictures.
Not Marchand. He hurried back to the training pool. Another race awaited us.
Ledecky's record gold
The American star made the most of her guest appearance on The Marchand Show by cruising to her seventh individual Olympic gold medal — she also has a relay gold — and 12th medal overall when she won the 1,500 freestyle.
Twenty-seven-year-old Ledecká equaled the Americans Dara Torres, Natalia Coughlin and Jenny Thompson for the most medals of all swimmers. Ledecky already held the mark for most individual gold medals by a woman competing at these Games.
“I try not to think too much about history,” Ledecky said. “But I know the names, the people I'm up there with, they're the swimmers I looked up to when I first started swimming. So I am honored to be named among them.”
Ledecky led from the start and steadily pulled away as she touched an Olympic record 15:30:02 in the event, which joins the women's program at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
It was similar to three years ago: Ledecky far ahead and everyone else racing for silver.
France's Anastasiia Kirpichinikova finished nearly half a lap behind but thrilled the home fans by taking second place on the podium in 15:40.35.
German Isabel Gose won bronze in 15:41.16.
After opening the Paris Games with bronze in the 400 freestyle, this result looked more familiar to Ledecky.
Clearly excited to be back up, she splashes water and fist pumps several times as she walks the deck — a rare display of emotion for a stoic athlete who performs like a machine.
“I know that many other people expected that from me,” said Ledecky. “That doesn't make it any easier. I mean, it's not easy to always follow through and get the job done.'
Marchand returns for another gold
As Ledecka walked off the deck with her gold medal, it was time for Marchand to embark on his second night.
No problem. He blew away the field in the 200 breast with an Olympic record 2:05.85, dethroning another champion from Tokyo.
Australia's Zac Stubblety-Cook settled for silver this time, almost a second behind in 2:06.79. Casper Corbeau from the Netherlands won bronze.
“The most exciting part of the whole race and watching him absorb it all and have his moment,” Stubblety-Cook said. “I think it's wonderful. It's great for the sport of swimming and it's great to see the better half of 15,000 people chanting one person's name and watching the swim live.”
Marchand climbed out of the pool and stared at the scoreboard. He ran a mop of curly hair a few times before throwing his hands in the air.
His work was done, at least for a few hours. Next up is the 200 individual medley, which begins with heats on Thursday morning.
“I'm very proud of him,” said his coach, American Bob Bowman, who was also Phelps' coach. “This is a tremendous, historic effort.”
China's Pan Zhanle set the first world record in swimming at the Paris Games
Almost lost in all the hustle and bustle was China's Pan Zhanle, who set the Games' first world record, breaking his own mark in the 100 freestyle.
He won in a time of 46.40 and easily beat the mark of 46.80, which he set in February at the World Championships in Doha.
Given the shallow pool at La Defense Arena, it was an impressive performance that was cited as the main reason why no world records were broken in the first four days of the match.
Australia's Kyle Chalmers won silver and Romania's David Popovici won bronze.
Swedish gold for 5-time Olympian Sjostrom
Sarah Sjostrom made her fifth Olympics a gold medal celebration by winning the 100 freestyle.
Sjostrom has limited her program at the last two world championships, swimming only the 50 freestyle. She decided to add 100 at the Paris Games and boy did that decision pay off.
Her winning time was 52.16, with the U.S. settling for another silver medal — its eighth in swimming competition — when Torri Huske finished in 52.29. Siobhan Haughey from Hong Kong took the bronze.
