It’s four now. France’s Léon Marchand won four individual gold medals at the Paris Summer Olympics, breaking Olympic records each time.
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NANTER, France – Léon Marchand’s coronation was perfect.
Last week, in front of an adoring, sometimes raucous crowd at home in Paris, the blond young Frenchman emerged as the next big thing in international Olympic swimming.
Marchand, 22, had never won a gold medal before this Summer Olympics. He now has four individual gold medals in a single Olympics, putting him in a category of greatness once reserved exclusively for two Americans, Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps.
With each win this week, including his most recent one that he celebrated by raising four fingers on Friday night, Marchand also broke an Olympic record.
“It was crazy,” Marchand said of his final individual performance in the men’s 200m individual medley final at the gymnasium in La Défense, a suburb of Paris. “The public cheers again. This is my last solo fight [of these Games] So I told myself I had to really enjoy it.
To say the crowd cheered doesn’t do justice to the cultural moment Marchand sparked here. Some French people are ambivalent about the decision to hold the Olympics in Paris, but Marchand fever is everywhere in the city. Taxi drivers talk about him. Teenagers were fascinated by him. In the restaurant, as he competes, everything stops and all eyes turn to the TV showing his victory.
Young fans gathered outside the La Défense stadium in the Paris suburbs on Friday to cheer on their new swimming hero Leon Marchand. He stepped up for them and won his fourth gold medal.
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The swimming pool here is packed with Ma Shang fans. After each of his victories, thousands joined in a raucous rendition of France’s national anthem, “La Marseillaise.”
Marchand is expected to swim again in Sunday’s team relay final and will likely win another gold medal.
A turning point in Marchand’s emergence as a French national icon was that his performance in the pool was heavily influenced by the long-dominated American swimming system. Marchand lives in the United States most of the year and until recently competed in the NCAA system at Arizona State University.
After Friday’s race, American swimmer Regan Smith, who often trains alongside Marchand, expressed his admiration for the Frenchman’s ability.
“I had the opportunity to share an lane with him in practice for over two years,” Smith said. “I’ve been able to see what he’s able to do every day in training. He obviously has the physical tools, he’s very talented. But what makes him different from others is what he has here. [in his mind]. It’s unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. He has this It factor, this i don’t know what. He knows how to get things done.
France’s Leon Marchand celebrates after winning the men’s 200m individual medley final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, his fourth individual gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
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Notably, Marchand was coached by legendary American swimming coach Bob Bowman, who helped develop the talent of Michael Phelps. Earlier this week, Bowman told reporters that Marchand had become one of the greatest players of all time in Paris.
“I have him No. 1 right now,” Bowman said of Marchand. “He’s got speed, he’s got endurance. He hasn’t even reached his potential yet.”
Asked how he felt about developing a breakthrough talent who would go to France for an Olympic medal, Bowman shrugged and said: “I’m still red, white and blue in my heart.”
After Friday’s win, Marchand said he plans to continue working with Bowman in preparation for the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“We’ve shared amazing moments here. We’ve been working so hard the past three years. I don’t know how to proceed with the next part (of my athletic career). I think (Bowman) is really going to help me because he Know a lot about this.
When asked about being compared to American Michael Phelps, Marchand said it was an honor. “Of course, he is a legend in swimming – and he always will be.”
