the “king” Léon Marchand added a 4th gold medal to his harvest story

2024-08-02 18:51:23

Two days after his historic victory in the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke, Léon Marchand once again defied his rivals by winning a fourth gold medal at the La Défense swimming pool. The Toulouse native became France’s first four-time Olympic champion in the same edition of the Games by winning the 200m medley.

Published on: 02/08/2024 – 20:51Edited: 02/08/2024 – 21:17

3 min

“King Leon” strikes again. Already a three-time Olympic champion, swimmer Léon Marchand won a 4th title, Friday August 2, by winning the final of the 200m medley, the last individual event on his mammoth list at the Paris Olympics.

He beat the British Duncan Scott and the Chinese Wang Shun, defending the championship. With a time of 1 min 54 sec 06, he is even close to the world record. He fell six hundredths short of the world record held by the American Ryan Lochte (1’54″00), but he also set the fourth Olympic record in most finishes (1’54” 06).

Two days after his crazy evening was marked by two unprecedented 200m butterfly-200m breaststroke and after winning the 400m on Sunday, the 22-year-old Frenchman has become even more legendary. In an arena packed with 15,000 spectators chanting his name collectively, the Toulouse native took the lead on the backstretch, the second of four swims.

“It’s incredible, it’s magic, really. I’m very good in terms of power management”, exclaimed Léon Marchand on France TV after his victory, who had won the day before with heavy legs and nights short

In the elite of swimmers

True to form, the student of Bob Bowman – the former coach of the American legend Michael Phelps – finished the final without expressing the overflowing joy, a little happy smile at the corner of his lips and showing four fingers with his hand soak. Your mission is complete. He completed in the most beautiful way the race each eleven races in six days.

He joins a very closed circle of four French Olympic champions. Only fighters Christian d’Oriola and Lucien Gaudin, and judoka Teddy Riner, have achieved this feat, but in several Olympics. Léon Marchand is now the only tricolor that has achieved it in the same edition of the Games.

He joins the East German Kristin Otto and the Americans Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps in the Olympic pantheon among the famous swimmers who have won four titles each in the same Olympic Games.

Read again2024 Olympics: after the Olympic exploits of Léon Marchand, France wins through “Léonmania”

The Star from JO arrives in Paris

The swimmer can also improve your amazing yield. It may not be over with the Paris Olympics yet. He may line up in one last race on Saturday. The blue record, owned by Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Antoine Viquerat, Lilou Ressencourt and Marie Wattel confirmed his place in the final with the seventh time in the series (3: 43.99) and could receive a strong reinforcement in the person of Léon Marchand.

“Stratospheric”, “wonderful”, “bluffing”, the French champion has in any case become the star of the Paris Games and the new star of the swimming world. A real “Léonmania” has captured the French public. In each of its races, the country stops and holds its breath to rebuke the crimes of the new lover of a whole nation.

Read againOlympic Games-2024: photo of Léon Marchand, Olympic champion in 400m medley