France President Emmanuel Macron lauds Leon Marchand's "legendary 400m" after 22-year-old secures gold at Paris Olympics

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Jul 29, 2024 04:10 GMT

Leon Marchand received praise from French President Emmanuel Macron following the swimmer's first feat at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Marchand became the first athlete to secure a medal in the swimming event for the host nation at the 2024 Games.

Marchand clinched a gold medal in his pet event, the 400m individual medley. The 22-year-old defeated Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita and America's Carson Foster by clocking an impressive time of 4:02.95. Matsushita and Foster posted 4:08.62 and 4:08.66, respectively.

Marchand's dominating performance not only helped him earn the gold medal but also surpassed the previous Olympic record set by Michael Phelps. The legendary swimmer recorded a spectacular time of 4:03.84 during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Following his recent victory, Marchand was hailed by the President of France.

"Giant Leon Marchand," wrote President Macron. "Bravo for this legendary 400 meters. And this is just the beginning of an Olympic journey that will shatter all records!"

"France is proud," the President added.

Marchand surpassed his final round's time with a huge gap from the preliminary round, where he clocked 4:08.30. The French swimmer holds the world record in the event, which he set on July 23, 2023, at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka Japan by posting a spectacular time of 4:02.50.

When will Leon Marchand compete next at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Leon Marchand of Team France celebrates after winning gold in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley Final at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Getty Images)

Apart from the 400m individual medley, Leon Marchand will also compete in the men's 200m IM, 200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay events.

The 200m IM heats are scheduled for August 1, 2024, at 11:40, where he will contend against Carson Foster and Shaine Casas. The semifinal round will be held on the same day at 21:35, with the finals on the following day at 20:43.

The heats and semifinal rounds of the 200m breaststroke will be held on July 30, 2024, at 12:51 and 21:47. He will lock horns with Joshua Yong, Josh Matheny, and Matt Fallon. The final round of the men's 200m breaststroke is scheduled for July 31, 2024, at 22:15.

The heats and semifinals for the 200m butterfly are also scheduled for July 30, 2024, with the final on July 31, 2024 at 20:36. On the same day, he will also compete with his squad in the heats of 4x200m freestyle. Marchand, along with fellow French swimmers, will represent the squad in 4x100m medley heats on August 3, 2024.