Three races, three victories, three records. Léon Marchand flew over these swimming world championships in Fukuoka, to the point of being elected swimmer of the competition.
Specialist of the “medley”, the young Frenchman of 21 years impressed from his first race. He won the 400m medley and took the world record from Michael Phelps. Just that. Léon Marchand did it again in the 200m medley, before winning a third planetary title in the 200m butterfly. Not to mention the two fourth places taken with the French relays, in the 4x200m and the 4x100m medley.
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“I am super satisfied,” said the Toulousain. “It’s not perfect, there are always things to improve, but I’m really happy with what I’ve done this year. It concretizes what I have done since the World Championships in Budapest (a year ago, editor’s note). I manage to regain my specialties, so it’s great, I’m super happy.
His trainer Bob Bowman enjoyed “a very good week”. The former mentor of Michael Phelps, who no longer has any individual world records, said: “I especially liked the way he handled the pressure of his performances. He managed his different races very well, the series, the semi-finals, the finals and improved each time.
Little present on social networks, Léon Marchand spoke briefly after these Worlds. A photo of him with Michael Phelps and this caption: “Last week was a movie” posted on Twitter, now renamed “X”.
