Léon Marchand on top of the world. And not only. The Frenchman was not satisfied, this Sunday, with winning a third career world title during the final of the 400m medley in Fukuoka (Japan). He also beat, and even pulverized, the world distance record held by a certain Michael Phelps.
The last who still remained the prerogative of the American legend of the pools, outclassed by more than a second by the new French extraterrestrial (4’02”50 against 4’03”84 for the Baltimore Kid). “It was amazing! This is the most painful race I have experienced. But the best is yet to come”, confided just after his exploit the native of Toulouse. A young man, only 21 years old, on whom the pressure seems to slip as he slips into chlorinated water. With unreal fluidity and power.
Indeed, if this world title seemed promised to him, a year after his double in Budapest where he had imposed one after the other in the 200 and 400m medley – which had revealed him to the eyes of the whole world -, nothing seemed certain concerning the world record. Moreover, when he arrived in Japan, he himself refused to make it an imperative. Even if he eyed it with ambition. “If I want to get to my main goal, I need to go below 4’4” or 4’3”. This will be a step in my journey, whether it happens tomorrow (this Sunday) or in a year, it doesn’t change anything. It’s pretty awesome because it’s Michael’s last, but that’s not my main focus. I will try to do my best time and we will see.
To see, the Japanese public, who had attended Phelps’ first world title in the 200m butterfly here in 2001, saw it well. Without giving the impression of forcing, Léon Marchand wisely took control after 50m, never to let go. With the highlight of a fabulous round trip in breaststroke, where he exploded his only potential rival, the American Carson Foster, but also the best mark of Phelps, with whom he had fought in butterfly and backstroke. But that he finally stirred with all his class, before concluding on a last 100m in crawl where he did not weaken. Marking the history of his sport deserved this.
