(Paris, France) Three gold medals weren’t enough for Léon Marchand, and on Friday evening in Paris he added his fourth gold medal to his resume, winning the 200m IM in record-breaking fashion for his fourth win this week. He finished in 1:54.06 and broke Michael Phelps’ Olympic record set in the 2008 Beijing games, becoming immortalized in Olympic history.
The victory makes Marchand the fourth swimmer ever to win four individual events in a single Olympics, joining Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, and Kristen Otto as the only swimmers to do so. Marchand is also the only Sun Devil to win four gold medals at one Olympic games.
After Friday’s events, he is the only individual to win four gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Additionally, in all four of his races, he set Olympic records: the 400m IM, the 200m fly, 200m breast and the 200m IM.
Dan Hicks, NBC’s lead commentator for Olympic swimming, NBC golf coverage and other top sporting events, had this to say on Léon Marchand’s performance this week: “You spend a lifetime training for a week that you hope you’re at your best, and then the Olympics are in your home country, and you deliver this type of performance. The stuff that dreams are made of for Marchand.”
Photo – NBC Olympics
From the start, Marchand jumped out to an early lead in the opening 50 meters and quickly opened up his lead on the backstroke and pulled away from the field on the breaststroke after making his second turn.
After opening up his lead in the final 50 meters, he was ahead of the world record pace. As he hit the wall, Marchand made his mark in Olympic history, giving his home country a memory they’ll never forget in years to come with his 1:54.06 time to send La Defense Arena and French President Emmanuel Macron into a frenzy.
“I don’t think anything went wrong this week,” Marchand said. “It was just perfect.”
In the magical six days for Marchand, he won two gold medals in two hours, became the face of France, and became one of the biggest phenomenons of the Paris Olympics so far. Marchand’s victory Friday evening was so loud that it postponed the start of the decathlon’s 400-meter run.
For Marchand, he has one more race to go in the Olympics, competing alongside three other French swimmers in the 4x100m medley relay. Qualifying heats begin 3:40 a.m. AZT.
The French phenom wasn’t the only Sun Devil to find success in the pool either. The 200m fly bronze medalist and Sun Devil sophomore Ilya Kharun qualified for the 100m fly final set to take place Saturday at 11:30 a.m. AZT for an opportunity to medal for the second time this week for Canada.
Kharun qualified after throwing down a time of 50.68 in the 100m fly semifinal Friday evening.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Zach Wargo
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