Leon Marchand: What did the Frenchman do in the period between winning two Olympic gold medals on the same night?

Leon Marchand shook his head in disbelief, seemingly saving energy by keeping his face neutral, instead of wasting precious calories on his trademark smile, after winning the men's 200m butterfly final on Wednesday 31 July.

That's because the French uber swimmer had another final the same night, the men's 200m breaststroke, less than 114 minutes later, for which he had to prepare.

The 22-year-old face-of Paris 2024 had just beaten the most dominant force in the distance for the past few years, Kristóf Milák of Hungary, the defending champion and world record holder, in a new Olympic record time of 1:51.21. Ilya Kharun of Canada claimed bronze. There was much to celebrate.

Instead, the Toulouse native raised a finger, circling it in the air gently in a muted celebration, while giant Marchand cut-out cardboard heads were waved wildly about the arena by fans, making up for the celebrations that would need to be put on ice for the swimmer for now.

Marchand did, however, take a moment to rest on the lane separator, hands on top of his swim cap, and give himself a minute to register what he'd just achieved.

Another shake of the head as he looked back down his lane, where the waves were also taking a moment to still themselves.

Putting goggles back on, Marchand finally turned to exit the pool, ducking under each swim-lane-float slowly, perhaps to have a moment to himself as much as a leisurely, heart-rate lowering slow movement, before hoisting himself out of the pool.

Still no expression.

Deep breaths – in through the nose, out through the mouth, in, out. Breathwork, something of a buzz word at this Games, to help still the mind and the body in moments of high stress and exertion.

Was that something he was advised by a mindfulness coach? Did he have a sports psychologist advise how best to get his thoughts in the right place for the next Olympic gold-medal attempt a short time later?

Even the idea of trying to claim two swimming medals on the same night is unprecedented, so could anyone even tell him anything at all that might help?

Even Michael Phelps, the 28-time Olympic medallist didn't even attempt this feat, let alone achieve it. But the American did win an incredible eight gold medals at one Olympic Games, under coach Bob Bowman, who just so happens to have new sensation Marchand under his tutelage.

And now the crazy idea was coming to fruition. At least the first half of it.

But as Marchand left the arena to ongoing roars from the crowd – negating the photos and media interviews that are usually required of a new Olympic champion – he had less than two hours to prepare, so what did he do in that time?

Leon Marchand and what he did between winning two Olympic gold medals on the same night

"He'll go straight to the warm-down pool," said BBC commentator and four-time Olympic medallist, with two gold, Rebecca Adlington.

"He'll take his race suit off because they are so tight, to get the blood flowing again, because it is almost like a compression suit. He'll go for a swim down, maybe about 1,000m to 1500m depending on how he is feeling, just flush out that lactic acid," she said, referencing the chemical the body produces when cells break down carbohydrates for energy. Active recovery involving low-intensity exercise can reduce the build-up of the acid that can cause fatigue, cramps, and even pain between races.

"Maybe go and see the physio, get a little bit of a massage, refuel, get some fluids on board, all that sort of stuff."

There's also the small matter of a medal ceremony to attend to.

As Marchand emerged into the arena for the victory ceremony of his first event, there's no waving to crowd but lots of deep breathing, and a calm exterior. He's saving every ounce of energy, but he can't resist a big smile as 'Le-on, Le-on', echoes around La Defense Arena.

Podium-topping athletes often sing anthems quietly, a few supporters scattered in the crowd joining in. Here, Marchand has the full soundtrack of a 15-000-strong backing group, so the frontman can sing loud and proud.

Marchand took to the pool again for the men's 200m breaststroke a short-time later, the energy-saving aspect no doubt one of many one per cent factors that made the difference as he beat defending champion Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia into silver-medal position, and Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands who took bronze.

The feat astonished people inside and outside the swimming community, including that man Phelps.

"That's probably the greatest double I've ever seen in the history of the sport," Phelps exulted on U.S. broadcaster NBC.

"To be able to go 1:52 and 2:05, the kid can obviously swim, we know that, and if we didn't know it before, he's gonna be here for a long time. He's gonna make a lot of noise."

That noise is already being made, with another rendition of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, anointing the new king of swimming with a third gold medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 – having already secured the men's individual 400m medley before tonight – hanging around his neck.

Each medal has a piece of the original Eiffel Tower in it. By the time Marchand finishes his home Games, he'll be able to build his own.

Leon Marchand's next race is the men's 200m individual medley semi finals on 1 August at 21:47 local time with the final on 2 August at 20:43.