PARIS — France’s Paris Olympics poster boy Leon Marchand achieved a swimming first on home soil on Wednesday when he won gold medals in the 200-meter breaststroke and 200-meter butterfly in Olympic-record times on the same night.
The breaststroke gold was his third at La Defense Arena, but the 22-year-old became the first swimmer to win medals in both demanding events, redefining what was previously thought possible.
Even American great Michael Phelps, who coaches the Frenchman, couldn’t achieve it.
With chants of “Leon, Leon” ringing out across the arena as the crowd chanted his name with every stroke, Marchand led with every metre of the breaststroke, finishing in 2 minutes, 5.85 seconds.
The world record, set by China’s Qin Haiyan last year, is 2 minutes 5.48 seconds and Marchand was set to beat that mark up until 150 metres.
Tokyo 2021 champion Zach Stabley-Cook of Australia had to settle for silver, while Kaspar Corbeau of the Netherlands took bronze.
Marchand, who won the individual medley on Sunday, turned up the volume from the moment he stepped onto the pool deck.
In the butterfly race he beat Hungary’s world record holder and reigning champion Kristof Milak to take second place, with Ilya Kalun of Canada coming in third.
Unlike the breaststroke later in the race, Marchand was behind until the final stroke, but he overtook Mirak and took the win.
He returned to the medal ceremony and saluted the cheering crowd as the national anthem, “Marseillaise,” blared before rushing out to prepare for the breaststroke.
Anticipation was building ahead of the second half of the competition, so volunteers who had been clearing away boxes of the athletes’ clothing by the pool sprinted off in a rush to watch the race on television.
Crowds across the city watched, waiting to watch history unfold. The spectators in the table tennis hall sang the national anthem after Marchand won his first gold medal of the night.
–Special to Field Level Media, Reuters
