Meet Leon Marchand, the French swimmer who broke Michael Phelps' Olympic record at the Paris Olympics 2024

By Zahid Rashid Dar

Modified Jul 28, 2024 19:32 GMT

Leon Marchand is arguably the best 400m individual medley swimmer in the world and he has proved it yet again. After breaking Michael Phelps' world record in this event last year at the World Championships, the 22-year-old has now broken the American swimmer's Olympic record at the Paris Olympics 2024 to win his maiden Olympic medal.

Marchand is coached by Bob Bowman, the same person who coached the 23-time Olympic champion. The French swimmer first rose to prominence during the 2019 World and European Junior Championships, winning medals in blistering times in the 400m IM.

The 22-year-old came to be seen as a threat to Phelps’ 400m IM world record in 2022 when he won the gold medal in the distance at the 2022 World Aquatic Championships. Marchand clocked a time of 4:04.28 to set a new European record, missing Phelps’ world record mark by a narrow 0.46s.

The 400m Individual Medley world record was the only individual world Michael Phelps in 2023, and Leon Marchand eventually broke it at the World Championships in Japan. He clocked a sensational 4:02.50 to demolish the record, and nearly a year later now, the French prodigy has broken Phelps' Olympic record as well.

The 22-year-old clocked a blistering 4:02.95s in the 400m IM to win his maiden Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. His time also shattered Phelps’ long-standing record of 4:03.84 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Matsushita Tomoyuki of Japan won silver (4:08.62) while USA's Carson Foster took the bronze (4:08.66).

“It couldn't have gone to a better person”- Michael Phelps on Leon Marchand breaking his record

Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships: Swimming - Day 1 - Source: Getty

When Leon Marchand broke the 400m IM World record at the 2023 World Championships, Michael Phelps was present in the stands. Phelps claimed that while he was trying to hold the record for 20 years, he knew it would get broken someday.

"To be honest, I was trying to hold it for 20 years. So I got there. I can say I hold the longest-standing swimming World Record. That’s something really cool. But in Léon’s race, as soon as he turned with 100 to go, and he was a body length ahead of the record, I knew he wasn’t going to fade. As I said before, I knew it was going to get broken. I just didn't know when," he said (via Forbes)

However, the 23-time Olympic champion wasn't upset claiming that it still remained in his family given that he and Leon Marchand share the same coach.

"That was my last-standing individual World Record, but we're keeping it in the family with Bob and Léon. So it couldn't have gone to a better person," Phelps added.

Michael Phelps was once again in the stands watching as Leon Marchand broke his Olympic record at the Paris Olympics 2024, which he had set in the 2008 Olympic Games.