A little more than 130 days - 133 exactly - before the start of the swimming events at the Olympic Games, Léon Marchand is still moving forward masked.
Triple world champion in Fukuoka last summer (in the 200m butterfly, 200m medley and 400m medley), the 21-year-old athlete still does not know the exact program which will animate his summer week.
Potentially at the start in four individual events, the three for which he holds the world crown plus that of the 200m breaststroke which he had to skip last year, Marchand could benefit from the change of program approved by the International Federation.
An (over)loaded schedule
The 400m medley final will be on Sunday July 28.
Three days later, Marchand - still in the event of qualification for the final - will tackle the 200m butterfly and the 200m breaststroke just over an hour apart.
“An hour is enough.
I’ve already done worse,” he reassures.
The Frenchman's last individual race will be Friday August 2, during the 200m medley.
If his form allows him, Marchand could line up in the 4x200m and 4x100m medley relays.
However, one (significant) disadvantage persists: the final of the 4x200m relay is scheduled for the same evening as the semi-finals of the 200m butterfly and the 200m breaststroke, its flagship swim.
“The 4x200m relay in my program is going to be complicated, so I’m not sure I’ll do it yet.
But if I can do it, I will do it thoroughly,” promises Marchand.
“We have a team that is getting to a level where we might be able to compete and get a medal, so that’s going to be really cool.”
» On his program, he details having made progress, but not yet decided.
“And it won’t be decided for a while yet,” he sums up.
Also read: All the news from Léon Marchand
These rich problems are nevertheless the sign of an athlete who dominates his discipline and who has established several referenced performances.
Lucid about his state of form, the Toulouse resident has no intention of hiding.
“I'm 21, I'm reaching my peak in my sport and the Games are at home.
What more ?
», he summarizes to AFP, RMC Sport and Radio France, during the videoconference interview.
Aware of his media status, Léon Marchand ensures that he prepares for the Games “every day” with his mental trainer, to be one of the stars of the Olympics.
The Habs evoke a turning point: the moment when he beat Michael Phelps' world record in the 400m medley, on July 23, 2023. “Immediately in my head, I said to myself “Well, the Paris Games, that's it. is going to be different from what I imagined.”
(…) Before, I was unknown, I did my little races, my little finals and I went home.
It's not the same thing there.
»