Léon Marchand at the 2024 Olympics: after gold, what's on the agenda ? Here are the dates of his next races

Léon Marchand has started ideally his ogre program at the 2024 Olympics by winning the 400m medley after a demonstration. The French swimmer must follow up quickly with three more races. Plus a relay ?

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17:10 – 10.8 million viewers for Marchand's victorious 400m medley

Léon Marchand's swim to gold in the 400m medley shook La Défense Arena but also sent audience figures into a tailspin. The race broadcast on France 2 at 8:30 p.m. Sunday evening attracted 10.2 million viewers according to France Télévisions.

13:30 – Favorite merchant for the 200m medley ?

After his demonstration in the 400m medley, Léon Marchand approaches the rest of the program with legitimate ambition. If the challenge of the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke on the same day seems crazy, his registration in the 200m medley could earn him a new medal at the end of the week. The favorite, he will nevertheless have to face strong opposition, notably with the Chinese Shun Wang but also Carson Foster, 3rd yesterday in the 400m.

Léon Marchand has won the gold medal in the 400m medley for his first race at the Paris Olympics. The Frenchman left no chance to his opponents by finishing several seconds ahead at the end of a race that turned into a demonstration, an Olympic record to boot. The swimmer from Toulouse will be back in the La Défense pool on Tuesday. Here is the rest of the program and all the practical information to know about his incredible Olympic challenge.

His full program:

• 200 m butterfly: heats on July 30 and 31 from 11 a.m., finals from 8:36 p.m.
• 200 m breaststroke: heats on July 30 and 31 from 11 a.m., finals from from 10:08 p.m.
• 200 m medley: heats on August 1 and 2 from 11 a.m., final from 8:49 p.m.
• 4×100 m relay: heats on August 9 from 11 a.m., final on August 10 from 7:12 p.m.

Léon Marchand was born on May 17, 2002 in Toulouse and is the son of two former swimmers: Xavier Marchand, silver medalist at the world championships in the 200m medley in 1998, and Céline Bonnet, backstroke swimmer and medley specialist, who notably participated in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. His uncle, Christophe, is also a former Olympic swimmer, now the sports director of a swimming pool in Clichy. The young “Léon” has obviously been swimming in pools since he was very young, even if he had a preference for judo and rugby before following in his parents' footsteps, going so far as to be crowned French champion in the 200m butterfly in Rennes in 2019, making him the first French swimmer to obtain such a title in 17 years old. A few months later, he won a bronze medal in the 400m medley and the 200m breaststroke at the 2019 European Junior Championships. At the World Swimming Championships in Budapest in 2022, he left with three medals to his name, including two gold.

Who are Léon Marchand's parents ?

Léon Marchand comes from a lineage of swimmers. His mother is simply Céline Bonnet, a backstroke specialist and several times French champion. His father, Xavier Marchand, is vice-world champion in the 200m medley in Perth, Australia, in 1998.

How tall is Léon Marchand ? 

The French swimmer, a specialist in the 400m medley, is a big guy in the world of swimming and measures 1.83m according to the latest data from the FFN.

Why did Léon Marchand go to Arizona ?

The day after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 where he took part in his first Olympic final, taking 6th place, Léon Marchand packed his bags to join the University Arizona State and a certain Bob Bowman, former mentor of a certain Michael Phelps. Since then, the young prodigy has continued to progress and impress the United States. He also made headlines in May 2022 when he broke the NCAA record for the 200-yard medley, previously held by Caeleb Dressel. A performance that was congratulated by… Michael Phelps on Instagram.

Beyond the results in the pool, Léon Marchand has simply evolved since his departure for the United States as he explained to 20 Minutes in June 2022. "In bodybuilding, I did more " weightlifting ", more explosiveness. I am much more powerful. Mentally, I have gained autonomy and a lot of experience because I swam a lot in the NCAA (the university championship in the United States). I did a lot of races, a lot of relays. In competition, I can now throw myself at the wall to win the race. I swam a lot with Bob (Bowman). I improved my backstroke, my crawl. I have more assets than before. I simply swim faster.”

Léon Marchand and Bob Bowman

Léon Marchand based in the USA is under the orders of the legendary Bob Bowman, former mentor of Michael Phelps, and is learning a lot from him. “I was very impressed at first. But he's really a great coach, with a lot of experience. I know I'll be ready for all the competitions with him. And he's really relaxed. He's had a lot of results, so he's cooler, we have a lot of fun training while knowing in which direction we're going, what we want to do. There's a connection that's been created between us.”