Léon Marchand (French pronunciation:[leɔ̃maʁʃɑ̃]ⓘ; born 17 May 2002) is a Frenchswimmer. He is theWorld record holder in thelong course 200 and 400 metres individual medley, and in theshort course 200 metres individual medley; theOlympic record holder in the 200 and 400 metres individual medley, 200 metres butterfly and the 200 metres breaststroke; theEuropean record holder in thelong course 200 and 400 metres individual medley and the 200 meters breaststroke, in theshort course 100 and 200 metres individual medley and theFrench record holder in thelong course 200 and 400 metres individual medley, 200 metres butterfly and the 200 metres breaststroke, and in theshort course 100, 200, 400 metres individual medley and the 200 metres breaststroke. At the2024 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals in the200 m medley,200 metre breaststroke,200 metre butterfly, and400 metre medley. He became the fourth swimmer and third male swimmer in Olympic history to win four individual gold medals at a single Games.[2][3][4][5][6]
As a child, Marchand first took upjudo and thenrugby,[8] and although he was not pushed into swimming by his parents, he quickly felt at ease in the water with theDauphins du TOEC club at the age of six.[9][10]
The club is an extension of my family. At seven years old, I really started swimming. But I was skinny, I was too cold in the water and I stopped for a year or two. It was only during vacations that I enjoyed being in the water.
Trained and coached by Nicolas Castel in the Toulouse club until 2021, Marchand began training with an adjusted schedule around the age of 12 or 13.[10][9] Although he was versatile infreestyle,butterfly, andbreaststroke and a good swimmer over various distances, he was not the best national swimmer of his generation in the youth categories, being shorter and less powerful than some of his young competitors.[10] In 2017, as a teenager, he tried the400m individual medley on his parents' advice and developed a passion for the event.[10]
Alongside his sports career, he earned a scientific baccalaureate with highest honors and pursued computer science studies atToulouse III - Paul Sabatier University.[9]
In August 2019, at theWorld Junior Swimming Championships inBudapest,Hungary, Marchand won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley with aFrench record time of 4:16.37.[14][15] He also placed seventh with a time of 2:01.53 in the 200 metre individual medley, seventh swimming a 1:58.73 in the final of the 200 metre butterfly, tenth in the 200 metre breaststroke with a 2:15.13, and 15th in the 100 metre breaststroke in a time of 1:03.03.[16]
At the2022 NCAA Division I Championships in March inAtlanta,United States, Marchand won his first individual NCAA title of his freshman year for theArizona State Sun Devils in the 200 yard individual medley, winning the event and setting newNCAA,NCAA Championships, andUS Open records with his time of 1:37.69, which was over four-tenths of a second faster than the old marks of 1:38.13 set byCaeleb Dressel in 2018 (NCAA and US Open records) and 1:38.14 set byAndrew Seliskar in 2019 (NCAA Championships record).[22][23] It was the first time since 2000 that a man from theArizona State University swim program won an individual title in swimming at anNCAA Division I men's swimming and diving championships.[24] He won a second NCAA title in the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing 0.56 seconds ahead of second-place finisherMax McHugh with a time of 1:48.20.[25][26] He placed second in the 400 yard individual medley, with a 3:34.08 to finish behindHugo González, as well as in the 4×100 yard freestyle relay, where he split a 41.31 for the second leg of the relay to help finish in a final time of 2:46.40.[27][28]
Seven days after the end of the 2022 NCAA Championships, Marchand set a newFrench record in the 200 metre individual medley at the 2022Pro Swim Series atNorthside Swim Center inSan Antonio, United States, with a time of 1:56.95 and won the silver medal behindShaine Casas who finished in 1:56.70.[29][30] One day earlier, he won the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:09.24.[31]
The following morning, he qualified for the semifinals of the200 metre individual medley, swimming a 1:58.70 to tie for eighth-rank heading into the semifinals.[39] For his first race of the evening, he set a newFrench record in the final of the 200 metre butterfly at 1:53.37 and won the silver medal, finishing behindKristóf Milák of Hungary and ahead ofTomoru Honda of Japan.[38][40][41] In his final race of the day, the semifinals of the 200 metre individual medley, he set a newFrench record with a time of 1:55.75 and qualified for the final ranking first.[38][41][42] In the final of the 200 metre individual medley the following day, he won the gold medal with aFrench record time of 1:55.22.[43][44][45][46][47] With his two gold medals, he became the third French swimmer to achieve two gold medals in individual events at a singleFINA World Aquatics Championships, afterLaure Manaudou andFlorent Manaudou.[44] He also became thefirst male swimmer representing France to win any medal in the 400 metre individual medley at a World Aquatics Championships, the first since 1998 to win a medal in the200 m individual medley and the200 meter butterfly and the first to win a gold medal in the 200 metre individual medley.[44][48] On 23 June, he splits a 1:47.59 for the second leg of the4×200 metre freestyle relay in the final to help achieve a seventh-place finish in 7:08.78.[49] In the preliminaries of the4×100 metre medley relay on the eighth day, Marchand helped advance the relay to the final ranking second with a time of 52.09 seconds for the butterfly leg of the relay.[50] He lowered his split to a 51.50 in the final, contributing to a time of 3:32.37 and fifth-place finish[51]
At the end of the competition, he is awarded best male swimmer of the championships (with Katie Ledecky on women's side).
The month after the Championships, Marchand set a newFrench record in the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:08.76 at the 2022 Spanish Summer Championships inSabadell,Spain.[52]
Leading up to NCAA and conference championships season in 2023, Marchand set new NCAA and US Open records in the 400 yard individual medley with a time of 3:31.84 in a dual meet against theCalifornia Golden Bears on 21 January.[53][54][55]
On 1 March, the first day of the 2023Pac-12 Conference Championships atKing County Aquatic Center inFederal Way, United States, Marchand helped win the conference title in the 4×50 yard medley relay in a Pac-12 Conference and Championships record time of 1:21.69, splitting a 22.98 for the breaststroke leg of the relay.[56][57][58] He repeated the trio of conference title, conference record, and Championships record later in the session in the 4×200 yard freestyle relay, where he contributed a lead-off time of 1:30.77 to the final mark of 6:06.30.[57][58] The times for both relays also set new Arizona State Sun Devils swim program records for the men's events.[57] Following up with a 1:37.81 in the 200 yard individual medley the next day, he won his second-consecutive conference title in the event and lowered his Championships record from the previous year's edition by 1.84 seconds.[56][59][60] On day three, he lowered his US Open and NCAA records in the 400 yard individual medley, setting new conference, Championships, and program records with a time of 3:31.57 to win the conference title.[61][62][63] He splits a 49.73 for the breaststroke leg of the 4×100 yard medley relay later in the session, helping win the conference title with a program record time of 3:01.39.[61][62]
The fourth of four days, Marchand broke the US Open and NCAA records of 1:47.91 in the 200 yard breaststroke set byWill Licon in 2017, winning the conference title with a personal best time of 1:47.67.[64][65] For his final event, the 4×100 yard freestyle relay, he led-off with a 41.61 to contribute to a second-place time of 2:46.14.[64] The points allocated for each of his swims contributed to an overall score of 897.5 points for the Arizona State Sun Devils, which earned the men's swim program its first team Pac-12 Conference Championships title.[66][67]
Later in the month, at the2023 NCAA Division I Championships, Marchand helped win the silver medal in the 4×50 yard medley relay in a time of 1:21.07 on the first day of competition, splitting a 22.27 for the breaststroke leg of the relay.[68] Later in the session, he anchored with a 1:28.42 in the 4×200 yard freestyle relay to help win the silver medal in a time of 6:05.08.[68][69] Both relay times set new men's swim program records for the Arizona State Sun Devils.[68] His split time of 22.27 lowered the former fastest 50 yard breaststroke split time in NCAA history of 22.39 seconds set by Max McHugh two heats earlier.[70] His split time of 1:28.42 for his 200-yard portion of the 4×200 yard freestyle relay ranked as the fastest in NCAA history as well.[68] On the second day, he won the NCAA title in the 200 yard individual medley for the second consecutive year, lowering his NCAA, Championships, and US Open records in the event to a 1:36.34.[71][72][73]
In the final of the 400 yard individual medley on the third evening, Marchand won the gold medal with a new NCAA, Championships, and US Open record time of 3:28.82, which was over two full seconds faster than his previous mark of 3:31.57.[74][75] For his second final of the evening, he contributed the fastest 100 yard breaststroke split time in NCAA history (49.23 seconds) to a bronze medal-win in the 4×100 yard medley relay in an Arizona State Sun Devils men's swim program record time of 2:59.18.[76] Starting the fourth finals session with the 200 yard breaststroke, he won his second repeat title and third title overall of the Championships, lowering his NCAA and US Open records as well as setting a new Championships record with a personal best time of 1:46.91.[77][78] Finishing the Championships in the 4×100 yard freestyle relay later in the session, he splits a 40.55 for the second leg of the relay to contribute to placing third overall with a program record time of 2:45.12.[79][80] His performances contributed to the first-ever top-five finish for the Arizona State Sun Devils men's swim program at anmen's NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, with the team placing second overall with 430 points, just 52 points behind the first-place team (California Golden Bears) and 46 points ahead of the third-place team (Texas Longhorns).[80]
Following the conclusion of the collegiate championships, Marchand competed at the 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series in April, winning the 400 metre individual medley with a 4:07.80, the 200 metre butterfly with a 1:55.58, the 200 metre breaststroke with a 2:10.52, and the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:55.69.[81][82] In June, he won the gold medal in the 200 metre breaststroke at the 2023 French Elite Swimming Championships on day one inRennes, finishing in aFrench record and2023 World Aquatics Championships qualifying time of 2:06.59 that marked a time drop of 2.17 seconds from his previous personal best andFrench record time.[83][84][85][86] On the second day, he swam a personal best time of 1:48.70 in the preliminaries of the 200 metre freestyle and qualified ranking seventh for the final, where he won the gold medal with a personal best time of 1:46.44.[87][88]
For the 200 metre butterfly on day three, Marchand won the gold medal with a time of 1:55.79.[89][90] He won his fourth national title on the fourth day in the 200 metre individual medley, where he finished first with a time of 1:56.25 in the final.[91] In the 400 metre individual medley on day five, he achieved a World Championships qualifying time of 4:10.57 in the final and won the gold medal and national title.[92]
On 23 July, the first day of2023 World Aquatics Championships atFukuoka inJapan, Marchand ranked second behind Carson Foster in the preliminary heats of the400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:10.88. He set a newWorld record in the final with a time of 4:02.50 to win the gold medal. Two days later, he qualified for the semifinals of the200 metre butterfly with a time of 1:55.46 and tied rank of seventh in the prelims. For the semifinals, he ranked second behind Carson Foster with a time of 1:54.21 and qualified for the final the following day.
The following morning, he qualified for the semifinals of the200 metre individual medley, swimming a 1:58.38 to tie for ninth-rank heading into the semifinals. For his first race of the evening, he set a newFrench record in the final of the 200 metre butterfly at 1:52.43 and won the gold medal. With this time, he became the third fastest performer of all time in this event. In his final race of the day, the semifinals of the 200 metre individual medley, he ranked first with a time of 1:56.34. In the final of the 200 metre individual medley the following day, he won the gold medal with aEuropean record time of 1:54.82. With this time, he became the third fastest performer of all time in this event. With his three gold medals, he became the first French swimmer to achieve three gold medals in individual events at a singleWorld Aquatics Championships and the first French swimmer to winfive individual gold medals in all at World Aquatics Championships ahead ofCamille Lacourt and his four individual gold medals. He also became thefirst male swimmer representing France to win a gold medal in the 200 metre butterfly at a World Aquatics Championships. On 28 July, he splits a 1:44.89 for the fourth leg of the4×200 metre freestyle relay in the final to help achieve a fourth-place finish in 7:03.86. On 30 July, in the preliminaries of the4×100 metre medley relay, Marchand helped advance the relay to the final ranking second with a time of 59.57 seconds for the breaststroke leg of the relay. In the evening final of the same day, he splits a 59 seconds for the breaststroke leg of the relay and helped to achieve a fourth-place finish in 3:29.88.
At the end of the competition, he is awarded best male swimmer of the championships (with Kaylee McKeown on women's side).
At the2024 Summer Olympics inParis, Marchand finished with the most gold medals among individuals participants, with four, and was tied for the second-most total medals, with five (four gold, one bronze), breaking fourOlympic records.[93] On 28 July in the morning, Marchand ranked first in the preliminary heats of the400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:08.30. He won the final in the evening in anOlympic record time of 4:02.95 for his first career Olympic medal, making him the tenth French swimmer to become Olympic Champion, the seventh French swimming individual Olympic Champion and the first to do so since the2012 Summer Olympics in London.
On 3 August, in the evening final of the100 metre mixed medley relay, he splits a 58.66 seconds for the breaststroke leg of the relay and helped to achieve a fourth-place finish in a newFrench record of 3:40.96.
Finally on 3 August, in the preliminaries of the100 metre medley relay, Marchand helped advance the relay to the final ranking first with a time of 59.03 seconds for the breaststroke leg of the relay. On 4 August in the evening, he splits a 58.62 seconds for the breaststroke leg of the relay and helped to achieve a bronze medal in a newFrench record of 3:28.38.
Léon Marchand at Parc des Champions
Marchand has been mentioned frequently as the nextPhelps, including by Phelps himself.[95][96] Marchand was chosen to carry the Olympic flame during theclosing ceremony.
Following the Olympic Games, Marchand competed in theSwimming World Cup, winning gold in all three medley events (100 IM, 200 IM and 400 IM) at all three World Cup legs, held inShanghai inChina,Incheon inSouth Korea, and inSingapore. On 31 october in Singapore, he broke the 100 IM short courseEuropean record (49.92) becoming the second swimmer ever behind world record holder, american Caeleb Dressel. The day after, he also broke the 200 IM short courseWorld record (1:48.88) and is named the overall male winner of the world cup. On 30 November, he decided to pull out ofWorld Aquatics Swimming Championships (25 m) in Budapest due to exhaustion and injury. He is named World Aquatics' male swimmer of the year on 15 December.
Following the Olympic year and going pro, Marchand decided to go abroad and train withDean Boxall inBrisbane, Australia.He got back into competition at the 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series inFort Lauderdale in April, finishing second in the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:13.86, in the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:57.27 time, third in the 400 metre freestyle with a 3:48.97, and eighth in the 200 metre freestyle with a 1:49.66 time.In May, he competed in the ST TXLA Longhorns Aquatics and achieved the qualification times for the2025 World Aquatics Championships in placing first in the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:07.11 and in the 200 meter breastroke in a 2:08.25 time. He also raced in the 400 metre freestyle with a 3:48.62 time by finishing third but not reached the qualification time needed.In June, He decided to withdraw from the French Championships inMontpellier, France and got an exemption from the French Swimming Federation.Finally, he took part in a meet inIndianapolis, United States and swam four events. He finished first in the 100 meter breastroke in 59.95 and in the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:57.23 time. He placed second in the 200 meter backstroke in 1:57.14 and seventh in the 100 meter freestyle in 49.70.
On 1 August, he splits a 1:44.34 for the fourth leg of the4×200 metre freestyle relay in the final to help achieve a sixth-place finish in 7:03.69.
The last day of the competition, he ranked seventh in the preliminary heats of the400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:13.19. In the evening, he wins the gold medal in the final of the400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:04.73.
Thirty minutes later, he splits a 58.44 for the breaststroke leg of the final of the4×100 metre medley relay and helped to achieve a silver medal in a newFrench record of 3:27.96.
At the end of the competition, he is awarded best male swimmer of the championships (withSummer McIntosh on women's side).
Léon Marchand takes part in the first stop of theSwimming World Cup inCarmel (10 October-12 October) in theUnited States.He races four events (200 meter individual medley, 400 meter freestyle, 200 meter backstroke and 200 meter breaststroke).In the 200 meter individual medley, he finishes second behind Shaine Casas in a time of 1.49.73. In the 400 meter freestyle, he takes the third place in a time of 3.38.25. In the 200 meter backstroke, he finishes second behind Hubert Kós in aFrench record time of 1.47.68. Finally, in the 200 meter breaststroke, he takes also the second place behind Caspar Corbeau in a newFrench record time of 2.02.00.
Legend:WR –World record;ER –European record;NR –French record;OR –Olympic record; Records not set in finals:h – heat;sf – semifinal;r – relay 1st leg;rh – relay heat 1st leg;b – B final;† – en route to final mark;tt – time trial
Legend:WR –World record;ER –European record;NR –French record; Records not set in finals:h – heat;sf – semifinal;r – relay 1st leg;rh – relay heat 1st leg;b – B final;† – en route to final mark;tt – time trial
Legend:WR –World record;ER –European record;NR –French record;OR –Olympic record; Records not set in finals:h – heat;sf – semifinal;r – relay 1st leg;rh – relay heat 1st leg;b – B final;† – en route to final mark;tt – time trial
Legend:WR –World record;ER –European record;NR –French record; Records not set in finals:h – heat;sf – semifinal;r – relay 1st leg;rh – relay heat 1st leg;b – B final;† – en route to final mark;tt – time trial