“I'm going to try to see another culture”: Léon Marchand will go to the other side of the world to train for several months

French swimming champion Léon Marchand will leave for Australia in January for "two to three months", during which he plans to train with a new coach, he announced on Thursday, December 19 in Saint-Denis, Reunion Island.

“I'm going to try to see another culture, train with a new coach, and then I'll join Bob Bowman in Austin later this year”, explained to the press Léon Marchand, the five-time Olympic medalist, who was passing through Reunion Island to take part in the Indian Ocean swimming meet.

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The 22-year-old swimmer, who has been trained for two and a half years by Bob Bowman in the United States, explained that he wanted to “see something else, surf, enjoy Australia”. “I plan to leave for two to three months”, he said.

A specialist in the 200m medley, breaststroke and butterfly events, the world champion also plans to try his hand at freestyle competitions and other distances in order to avoid getting “bored”.

Star of the meeting

A headliner at the 35th Indian Ocean swimming meeting, a competition that begins Friday in Saint-Denis, Reunion Island and continues until Sunday, Léon Marchand said he wanted to “performer” because he remains “competitor”, even if the sporting stakes are not decisive. He will swim the 200m, 100m and 50m breaststroke.

Six other Olympians, including the captains of the French swimming team, Béryl Gastaldello and Damien Joly, are taking part in this event which brings together local swimmers from France, Madagascar and Mauritius.

Declaring himself “exhausted”, Léon Marchand had given up on the short course World Championships (December 10-15 in Budapest) at the end of November after winning four Olympic gold medals and one bronze (4x100m medley relay) in Paris this summer, explaining that he wanted to “gain some step back” in order to prepare for its “future challenges”.