2024-07-29 21:48:14
More than 17 thousand crazed fans rose from their seats, and they were forced to do so by 22-year-old Frenchman Leon Marchand, who became the main culprit of the evening. The pride of place in the arena ignited the kind of party that was talked about even as the other evening swims took place.
It coincided that the first event of Sunday’s Olympic swimming evening program became the final of the 400 m individual medley by the decision of the organizers.
The pre-competition announcer introduced each swimmer competing in the finals separately, and the noise level began to rise with almost every Olympian.
The bomb of emotions exploded when the last, on the fourth track, marching towards the start, K. Marchand was presented. The Frenchman, who reached the finals with the best selection result, was simply “floated” into the pool by the crowd wearing French flags and shouting words of support.
An even bigger party erupted as the Frenchman jumped into the Olympic pool, building his lead with every meter, the gap growing as the noise in the La Defense arena reached an already impressive level.
In the third swimming section (breaststroke style), the swimmer began to perform together with the audience – to each stroke of the Frenchman, the fans screamed in response to the phrase: „Ole!“. This synthesis further increased L. Marchand’s distance from his rivals, and his impressive speed equaled the world record graph.
The hunt for the planet’s record continued until the finish line, but this time the Frenchman’s best result on the planet was superior. On Sunday, the pearl of French swimming had to “just settle” for a new Olympic record – 4 minutes. 2.95 sec.
This result almost lifted the roof of the “La Defance” arena, which became the swimmers’ temporary home, and just ten minutes after this rock and roll, the best Lithuanian swimmer Danas Rapšys had to jump into the pool – he competed in the semi-finals of the 200 m freestyle.
The man from Panevėžys won a ticket to Monday’s final, and after swimming he shared his impressions not only about his performance, but also about the performance of L. Marchand, who left a great impression on him.
“We watched how L. Marchand swam. I did not understand – after the first intermediate stop – over the record by 0.6 seconds, and after the stage with breaststroke – 2 seconds. We didn’t understand anything, we all sat like that – what will happen here? Well, it wasn’t enough at the end, but the tribune was shaking, that’s good”, said D. Rapšys.
After his first Olympic swim, the Lithuanian swimmer, who responded warmly to the stands of the “La Defence” arena, bowed his head to the atmosphere and after the semi-final swim that took place on Sunday.
“When I came to the semi-finals myself, I had a good look around to see, because those stands look powerful,” added the native of Panevėžys.
Rūta Meilutytė, who won her third Olympics at the Paris Olympic Games, was also impressed by the “La Defence” arena.
“Impressive. When we came (during training) when it was empty, it reminded me of the Budapest Arena. However, when it was filled with people, that feeling…I probably haven’t been, maybe London is comparable. He did everything very close. I like it – it’s cozy, the people are right there. They did it very nicely”, – to lrytas.lt the swimmer answered the question about her impressions.
You can read more about the spectacular renovation of the Le Defance arena here.
We remind you that the 200 m freestyle final, in which D. Rapšys will compete, will take place on Monday at 9 p.m. 40 minutes Lithuanian time.
The Paris Olympic Games take place from July 26 to August 11, and you can follow their progress and the hottest comments from athletes lrytas.lt portal.
2024-07-29 21:48:14