WATCH: Michael Phelps' ecstatic reaction to Leon Marchand winning the race after trailing behind in a thrilling contest at Paris Olympics 2024

By Neelabhra Roy

Modified Aug 01, 2024 12:04 GMT

Michael Phelps was thrilled to see Leon Marchand win the men's 200m butterfly event at the Paris Olympics 2024. The 22-year-old also broke the Olympic record set by Kristof Milak, who he beat in the final.

Marchand was a heavy favorite to win the 200m butterfly event and produced a stellar performance in the final to clock 1:51.21 and win gold, while also setting a new Olympic record.

Michael Phelps was watching the final along with NBC commentator Mike Tirico and punched the air when Leon Marchand finished the race and won gold.

Leon Marchand has had a terrific Olympics already with three gold medals to his name so far. In addition to Milak's 200m butterfly record, the 22-year-old also broke two more Olympic records.

The Frenchman bettered Michael Phelps' 400m individual record from Beijing 2008 by clocking 4:02.95 in the event's final.

He also bettered the 200m breastroke record that was previously set by Australia's Zac Stubblety-Cook in Tokyo 2020 by clocking 2:05.85 in the final.

Michael Phelps: "Leon Marchand and I have so many similarities"

Michael Phelps at the 2023 US Open

Michael Phelps shared his thoughts on Leon Marchand breaking his Olympic record while speaking on the Pat McAfee Show. The 39-year-old said that he "loved" that his records were to be broken. Phelps added that Marchand and himself had many similarities.

“For me, nobody believed that I was able to do the things that I was trying to do, right? But I did, deep down inside, and same thing for [Marchand],” Phelps said. A lot of people said my records were never gonna be broken and untouched, but clearly it’s not that. And for me, I love it."

"I love being able to see a young man have a dream, go out there, put in the work and put together the pieces that give him a chance to do this… He and I have so many similarities," he added.

Having already won three gold medals in Paris, Marchand is also competing in the 200m individual medley and the 4x200m relay. He finished second in his heat in the former event, finishing behind Duncan Scott with a timing of 1:57.86.

Marchand did not feature in the 4x200m heats, as France finished second, narrowly behind the United States after clocking 7:05.61.