Leon Marchand delivers what Michael Phelps calls 'greatest double' in swimming
At 20:42 on Wednesday 31 July, Leon Marchand touched the wall in the Paris La Defense Arena pool, to start an evening for the ages that would see him win two gold medals — bringing the total to three in four days — and set two more Olympic swimming records at Paris 2024.
The last 20 metres of this men’s 200m butterfly final had the spectators in raptures. Marchand, still breathing heavily from his last-second dash, allowed himself a subdued celebration before making a quick change for the victory ceremony.
Chants of “Leon, Leon” greeted his ascent to the podium, thousands of fans sang “La Marseillaise” along with him and stretched out their hands to receive high fives from the 22-year-old native of Toulouse in southern France. But Marchand did not linger long.
It was one race down, one more to go. At 22:33 he walked out to the pool again, this time to race in the men’s 200m breaststroke.
For the 15,000 who were in the Paris La Defense Arena and the thousands watching on their TVs around the world, it was a bit of déjà vu: Another victory, another Olympic record, taken from the man swimming in the next lane. The only difference was that this time Marchand let all his emotions out at the finish, smashing the water with his fist before his face broke out into a relieved smile.
"I knew it was possible for me to do, but just finish those races, maybe not win them. I had never known that [was possible]. That’s why I was swimming. I was trying to get that surprise for me,” said Marchand, who on Sunday won the men’s 400m individual medley at Paris 2024.
“The double was something I’d been thinking about for quite some time. After the 200m breaststroke, I think I’ve finished the marathon. I’ve done six races in a day and a half, so that’s a lot, and I took advantage of it to enjoy myself at the end of the race and to celebrate because I won two gold medals in two hours, which is pretty incredible for me.”
Leon Marchand of France won the men's 200m breaststroke and the 200m butterfly only a couple of hours apart on 31 July 2024 at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
If it was incredible for Marchand, it was even more incredible for the swimming world at large.
With his dual victories, Marchand became the fourth swimmer in history to win two individual gold medals on the same day, joining East Germany's Kornelia Ender, Australia's Frederick Lane and Hungary's Alfred Hajos.
What makes the feat even more impressive is the selection of races Marchand pursued for a double win. Breast and butterfly strokes put focus on different body parts, so it is extremely rare for swimmers to specialise in both.
"He's young, hungry and willing to hurt for it," said Australia's Zac Stubblety-Cook, who finished second to Marchand in the 200m breaststroke. "It's awesome to see that next generation of swimming."
Leon Marchand's 101 Guide to wowing Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps is among the select group of swimmers who have won two Olympic gold medals on the same night. His memorable blitz came at Beijing 2008 where the USA swimmer won 200m butterfly followed by the 4x200m freestyle relay, both with world records.
But after Wednesday night at Paris 2024, even the 23-time Olympic gold medallist wanted to hear from Marchand about what it feels like to win an Olympic gold medal.
“The cheer, everything there, the electricity — I can't wait to talk to him to hear what it felt like," Phelps said on the NBC broadcast.
"That's probably the greatest double I've ever seen in the history of the sport. 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.”
The crowds were already roaring for Marchand from the moment his name came up on the screen at Paris La Defense Arena.
Swimming in Lane 5 in the 200m butterfly, Marchand had his toughest competitor one lane to the left in defending Olympic champion Kristof Milak. The Hungarian had the best qualifying time. On top of that, he came into the race as the world and Olympic record holder in the event.
It was not a race where Marchand was favoured to win despite being the 2023 world champion. When it came down to times, the French swimmer held the 12th fastest time in the event. Milak held eight of the other top 11 spots.
By the end of the race, however, Marchand had bumped himself up to fourth position on that list.
Milak led for most of the race, but spurred on by ever louder cheers, the French swimmer overtook him in the final metres to finish in a time of 1:51.21, claiming not only the Olympic title but also Milak’s Olympic record.
“The 200 fly was actually crazy on the last (metres)," Marchand said afterwards. "I could hear the whole pool was going crazy. I think that’s why also I was able to win in that race. I really used that energy from the crowd.”
Milak finished 0.54 seconds behind, with Canada’s Ilya Kharun — Marchand’s daily training partner at Arizona State University before the Frenchman went pro — took bronze in 1:52.80.
“He's really nice and he's a really good training partner. He works hard," Kharun said after sharing the podium with Marchand. "He's just a great person all around.
“Right now he said he's very proud of me, and I'm really proud of him as well.”
Leon Marchand celebrates after winning the men's 200m breaststroke at Paris 2024, his second gold medal of the night.
After this quick exchange with Kharun at the victory ceremony as well as weaving through a streak of high fives while Stromae’s "Alors On Danse" played in the background, Marchand went back out and did the dance again.
This time the expectations were higher. While the French swimmer has only competed in breaststroke races at international junior competitions, he swam the yard version of the event regularly in the NCAAs and held the world’s ninth fastest time in this stroke.
After leading for all of the race and being the first to the wall, Marchand managed to improve on that ranking as well. He moved up to second position with a time of 2:05.85, which improved on the Olympic record previously held by Tokyo 2020 champion Stubblety-Cook. The Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau finished third.
As if all those milestones were not enough, Marchand’s breaststroke victory also made him the first French athlete to win two Olympic golds in one day. And the host-nation fans were overjoyed to witness it.
“Every time I took a breath, I [could] hear this huge noise,” Marchand said of the breaststroke race. "It’s kind of funny because I'm a really shy person at first, and I was really in the centre of the attention in those two races. I was trying to get the energy from the whole crowd, they were amazing to me. They were really pushing me in every final. I think I did really well in those two finals, to be able have my energy throughout the night, and I was able to push it as fast as possible.”
Leon Marchand celebrates with fans at Paris La Defense Arena after his golden double.
Breaststroke, butterfly, IM: The versatility of Leon Marchand
With the outpouring of love Marchand is getting at a home Olympic Games, there are plenty of people who would want to be him for a day.
Pool rivals Stubblety-Cook and Corbeau are not among them.
“No way,” was Stubblety-Cook's immediate response when asked if he would ever try adding butterfly races into his breaststroke repertoire.
Corbeau was equally unenthused about the prospect.
"The most I would ever consider is maybe like a 200 IM," the Dutch swimmer said of which of Marchand's races he might try to tackle. "He's obviously one of the most talented to ever do it. And I've been racing him since 2019 at the junior level. He was spectacular there and he's continued to grow and accumulate more medals and have more success. And I'm grateful to race against him and ultimately to call him a friend."
“Leon Marchand de reves” read one of the many posters being waved in Paris La Defense Arena on Wednesday — a play on words between “merchant de reves” (seller of dreams) and the French swimmer’s last name.
On the night when Marchand managed to surprise even himself, he was selling much more than just dreams, but a vision of swimming's future.
"He is taking that 400 IM to a different level," Stubblety-Cook said. "When Phelps broke that 400 IM world record, he had a top five time in every 200, so Leon is doing something even more special. I think he's going to take that 400 med[ley] and the 200 fly and 200 breast to a really cool place."