How to get a competition off to a flying start? Ask Léon Marchand, 21 years old and already five times world swimming champion, will probably be the number one French attraction at the Olympic Games, due to his versatility and his chances of a gold medal.
To discover
Paris 2024: the map of Olympic sites
This week, the Frenchman is involved in the NCAA finals, with his university Arizona State, which is aiming for the first collective title in its history. And from the first day of competition in Indianapolis, Léon Marchand shone. He had to launch the 4 x 200 yards relay (and not meters, as traditional international competitions require), and did it in the most beautiful way. And although his team did not win the race, he set a new speed record over this distance, crossing the barrier of 1'29 (1'28”97). A broken record which followed that of Texan Luke Hobson, who himself had set the best time in this event during a previous series.
The Toulousain, who will have to carry - as he did on Wednesday - his team to hope to win this university title, will compete in his first individual race on Thursday, the 500 yards freestyle (heats 3 p.m. and final 11 p.m.). He broke the NCAA record for this event during his last outing, at the beginning of March. He will once again be the big favorite.