Leon Marchand the 22-year-old Frenchman was compared to Michael Phelps and carried the hopes of his nation on his shoulders.
Despite the pressure, Marchand performed effortlessly, establishing himself as one of the top stars of the games. With a passionate crowd cheering him on, Marchand won a gold medal for France in the men’s 400-meter individual medley on Sunday evening.
As soon as he emerged from the water, Marchand took the lead and maintained it throughout the race, leaving his competitors to fight for second and third place. He stated that he did not pay attention to the other lanes and was focused on his own performance.
Although he set an Olympic record with a time of 4 minutes and 2.95 seconds, it was just shy of his own world record of 4:02.50, which he achieved last year at the World Championships in Japan. Marchand has been compared to Phelps, as they both have the same coach, American Bob Bowman, who accompanied Phelps throughout his career.
After winning the race, Marchand received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron, who watched the race with his family and cheered for Marchand’s victory. His fans also celebrated wildly, filling the La Defense Arena with over 15,000 spectators, many of whom had painted their faces in the colours of the French flag. Marchand expressed his gratitude to the French fans for their support and mentioned that it was an incredible experience to compete in front of such a large crowd. He also mentioned that he trained in the United States while attending Arizona State University and that this was just the beginning for him in Paris.
He has three more individual events to participate in and is determined to make his country proud once again. After the race, Marchand celebrated with the crowd, pumping his fist in the air, in a stadium that is usually used for rugby matches. It was a fitting location for his remarkable performance.
