France’s ‘golden boy’ Leon Marchand is back in training after taking time off following the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he clinched five medals, four of them gold.
The 22-year-old lit up the Paris La Defense Arena with his dominant swims, setting four Olympic records. After taking time to rest, he returned to training on Monday 16 September, in his hometown of Toulouse.
“I took a long vacation and I tried to enjoy it,” Marchand said in an interview with RMC Sport, after spending his holiday travelling and even attending a party in Ibiza, Spain.
“I also took some time alone where I was able to reflect and think about what I had done. So I have more perspective and I am much more calm about what I did a month and a half ago, I realised. It’s crazy and I’m so happy to have done it.
“It’s a lot of work behind it and that’s what I’m thinking about the most… And we’re going to have to get back to work.”
The four-time Olympic champion is reenergised ahead of his new season, which begins with the 2024 World Cup in October in Shanghai, and he's excited about his return to the pool.
He will be working with a new coach, Nicolas Castel.
Castel explained that he will oversee Marchand's training until 2025, as his long-time coach, Bob Bowman, is transitioning to Director of Swimming at the University of Texas. Marchand is expected to resume working with Bowman when he returns to Austin next year.
The French star has his sights set on the five legs of the 2024 short course World Cup, beginning in the People's Republic of China on 18 October and concluding on 2 November in Singapore. He's also scheduled to compete at the 2024 World Short Course Championships in December in Budapest, which rules him out of the French Short Course Championships.