by Arianna Ravelli, correspondent in Paris
In front of President Macron, in a delirious Defense Arena, Marchand wins the 200 individual medley, after conquering the 400 individual medley and a double in a night of 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke. “I harness the energy of the stadium”
“Dear sir, I am a French swimmer, my name is Léon Marchand (18 years old). I would like to enroll at Arizona State University in the summer of 2021 to swim and compete in NCAA with your fantastic team. Do you think I could benefit from a scholarship? Attached is my presentation sheet. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Léon.”
The story of the greatest French swimmer begins like this. With an email sent (and a swift reply) to Bob Bowman’s inbox, a mythical figure, the former coach of Michael Phelps. Now Léon Marchand, 22 years old, from Toulouse, is in front of President Macron, in this pool built inside a rugby stadium, transformed into a frenzy, showing four fingers, like the gold medals he has around his neck (only Phelps and Spitz before him). And Bowman is by his side, poolside, wearing the Bleus jersey.
Marchand wins his fourth gold: the pool explodes
There was a moment last night when France was shaken by a single electric current: from the Grand Palais of fencing, where for a few seconds the ongoing challenge was interrupted by the crowd’s screams, to the center at Roland Garros, to fan zones around the city, which looked like festive squares celebrating the World Cup victory. Never seen anything like this for a swimmer.
Only the swimmer is Marchand, the man “who makes even Parisians smile” (heard on French TV), the perfect poster boy for an Olympics that speaks better and better to the French (just minutes before, the celebration for Flo Manaudou’s bronze in the 50 freestyle): at the end of a race in the 200 individual medley, which was a collective sabbath, finished in 1’54”06, an Olympic record and just six hundredths off the world record, with a three-quarters body lead over British swimmer Scott (2nd, 1’55”31) and Chinese Wang in 3rd (with Razzetti 6th), he went to grab the fourth gold after the 400 individual medley, of which he holds the world record, and the incredible double in less than two hours, 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke, which Bowman has always forbidden even to Mr. 23 Olympic golds: too technically different, not enough time to recover.
Not for Marchand’s mutant metabolism, who had only one moment of difficulty, when he returned to the water for the heats of the 200 individual medley, the morning after the double, with only 4 hours of sleep. But accelerated recharging is the house specialty.
And then the current was on. “Léon, Léon, Léon,” “Allez, allez, allez“. Not just a pool: a collective breath, a heart beating in unison, fully connected with the strokes of the man of the Games. “I am very good at managing energy, I can channel it, the whole stadium is behind me and I exploit it; in four days I won four golds,” the didactic summary of the feat. Phelps, on TV, is even more excited than him: “No one thought I could do the things I’ve done, but I had them inside me, and it’s the same for him.”
What are Marchand’s secrets
In fact, there are more differences than similarities with the Baltimore shark. Marchand has a “normal” physique, he does not have Phelps’s torso, nor Lochte’s long arms, he is 1.86 meters tall and weighs 77 kg. What happens when he dives is a true transformation: Léon does not swim; he dances in the water. The movement he creates with his spine, the way he harnesses the wave he produces himself in dolphin, the advantage he gains underwater, when he swims almost 15 meters (“I like the silence down there”).
Training partner James Don summed it up like this: “He creates a rogue wave.” When you are near him, it feels like swimming in open waters.
Now that it is possible to experience firsthand the collective frenzy he provokes, one can understand how dad Xavier and mom Céline Bonnet (both swimmers who competed in the Olympics and tried to steer their son towards other sports before resigning to the evidence), made the right choice with that email sent to Arizona. The formative years, from 19 to 22, Léon spent without the slightest pressure. At university, no one recognized him, and the only difference between him and the other students was the Louis Vuitton bag and an Omega watch, two sponsors who bet on him. Now he looks around with a friendly face and enjoys the rogue wave he himself has created. Oui, les Jeux c’est moi.
If you want to stay updated on the news of Paris 2024, subscribe for free to our newsletter. It arrives every day in your inbox throughout the duration of the event. Just click here.