WATCH: Leon Marchand swims unreal last 50m to win 200m butterfly gold at Paris Olympics 2024, passes Michael Phelps in all-time rankings

By Abhiruchi Rout

Modified Jul 31, 2024 20:16 GMT

Leon Marchand delivered a superb performance in the men's 200m butterfly finals in front of his home crowd on July 31, 2024, at the Paris Olympics. The 22-year-old won the individual gold medal in the 200m butterfly in a time of 1:51.21, pushing the current world record holder and defending Olympic champion Kristof Milak to the silver medal position who clocked a time of 1:51.75.

With this achievement, Marchand not only broke the Olympic record of 1:51.25 previously set by Milak during the Tokyo Olympics finals but also surpassed Michael Phelps's timing, now holding the second spot in the best performer list in the event.

Only Milak has clocked better times than Leon Marchand, both of which he achieved during the World Aquatics Championships in the 2019 (1:50.73) and 2022 (1:50.34) editions of the event.

At the La Defense Arena, Marchand, who was behind for most of the race, moved ahead of Milak with about 50 meters remaining to accomplish a sensational victory. Watch the video of Marchand pulling off a stunning performance in the men's 200m butterfly finals here, shared by NBC’s X account:

With this, Marchand added another accolade to his already growing list of achievements in the men’s 200m butterfly. Besides this, he has also won two medals in the discipline at the World Championships long course, including a gold in the 2023 and a silver in the 2022 edition.

It is worth noting that Leon Marchand is a student of Bob Bowman who also trained Michael Phelps during his competitive career. With 28 medals including 23 golds, Michael Phelps stands as the most decorated Olympian of all time.

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Leon Marchand's performance representing France at the Paris Olympics

Leon Marchand during the medal ceremony of men's 400m individual medley at Paris Olympics 2024. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)

Besides winning the 200m butterfly event, Marchand displayed sheer dominance in the men’s 400m individual medley event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He was phenomenal in the race, cruising to victory in a time of 4:02.95, where his competitors Tomoyuki Matsushita and Carson Foster collected the silver and bronze medals, clocking times of 4:08.66 and 4:08.66 respectively.

Marchand’s gold medal in the 400m individual medley was the host nation’s third Olympic gold at this edition’s quadrennial Games. Following his gold-medal triumph in the 200m butterfly, France has now won its seventh gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.