Leon Marchand performs one of the most daring doubles in swimming history at the Paris Olympics.
NANTRE, France: When it comes to Leon Marchand, the comparisons to Michael Phelps are not entirely far-fetched.
They clearly weren't a burden to the 22-year-old Frenchman.
Marchand achieved one of the most daring doubles in swimming history on Wednesday night, winning the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke, two events separated by two hours, with the home crowd cheering him on.
Two tough races. Two very different strokes. Two Olympic records. Two gold medals.
Phelps competed in doubles several times, winning a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I'm a really shy person,” Marchand said. “I was the center of attention during those two races. I tried to get energy from the whole crowd. They were amazing to me and pushed me every finish.”
Marchand, who thrilled French fans and was the center of attention on a night when Katie Ledecky won another gold, claimed her second and third titles at the La Defense Arena and has become one of the faces of the Olympics less than a week after it began.
Marchand, who came away with a stunning finishing kick victory over world record holder and defending Olympic title holder Christophe Milac in the 200m butterfly, looked set to win the 200m breaststroke with ease.
He led the way to the finish, scoring a touchdown at 2:05.85, and was followed by more than 15,000 fans holding cardboard models of his smiling face. The fans nearly blew the roof off the La Defense Arena.
“Leon! Leon! Leon!” they shouted, and that chant was sure to reverberate through the night in Paris.
Marchand gets to work
Despite being behind for most of the 200m butterfly, Marchand edged Hungary's Milak in the final lap to win by 0.04 seconds, setting a new Olympic record of 1:51.71.
Marchand's final lap was about 0.66 seconds faster than the rest of the field and 1.26 seconds ahead of Milac.
“I’ve watched a lot of his races,” Marchand said. “I know he’s a lot faster than me, so I’ve tried to get as close as I can and then push through to the end.”
The bronze medal went to Canada's Ilya Karun.
Marchand, who won the 400m individual medley in a landslide on Sunday, shook his head and waved a finger as if he couldn't believe what he had done.
He then quickly went out onto the deck to another round of enthusiastic cheers and began his warm-up, but his preparations were interrupted by his mandatory return for the victory ceremony.
After a loud rendition of “La Marseillaise,” the other two medalists walked slowly around the pool and took pictures.
Marchand wasn't. He was back in the practice pool. He had one more race to go.
Ledecky's Gold Medal Record
The American star appeared as a guest on The Marchand Show and claimed her seventh individual Olympic gold medal (she also has a relay gold) and 12th career medal with a dominant victory in the 1,500m freestyle.
Ledecky, 27, is tied with fellow Americans Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin and Jenny Thompson for the most medals ever won by a female swimmer. Ledecky previously held the record for most individual gold medals by a female swimmer before entering the Games.
“I try not to think too much about history,” Ledecky said. “But I know the names, the people I’m with. They’re the swimmers I looked up to when I first started swimming. So just being one of them is an honor.”
Ledecky took the lead from the start and steadily built ahead, setting an Olympic record of 15:30.02 in the event added to the women's program at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.
This race was similar to the one three years ago, with Ledecky well ahead and everyone else competing for the silver medal.
France's Anastasia Kirpichnikova finished almost half a lap behind, but thrilled domestic fans by taking second place in 15:40.35.
The bronze medal went to Germany's Isabelle Goese with a time of 15:41.16.
This result seemed more familiar to Ledecky, who started the Paris Olympics with a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle.
She was delighted to be back on top, splashing water and walking across the deck, pumping her fists several times, a rare display of emotion for a cool-headed athlete who plays with machine-like efficiency.
“I know a lot of people expected me to do that,” Ledecky said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s not easy to always see things through and get things done.”
Marchand returns in search of more gold
As Ledecky walked off the deck with her gold medal, it was time for Marchand to go for her second medal of the night.
No problem. He blew up the stadium with an Olympic record time of 2:05.85 in the 200m breaststroke, beating out another champion from Tokyo.
This time, Australia's Zac Stubblety-Cook took silver, almost a second behind with a time of 2:06.79. The bronze went to the Netherlands' Casper Corbeau.
“The most exciting part of the whole race is watching him absorb it all and have a moment,” Stubblety-Cook said. “I think it's really great. It's great for the sport of swimming and to see half of the 15,000 people watching live and chanting your name is really great.”
Marchand came out of the pool and stared at the scoreboard. He tossed his curly hair a few times and then swung his arms in the air.
His work has been done for at least a few hours. Next up is the 200m individual medley, which begins with qualifying on Thursday morning.
“I'm really proud of him,” said American coach Bob Bowman, who also coaches Phelps. “It's a tremendous, historic effort.”
China's Pan Zhanle Sets First World Record in Swimming at Paris Olympics
Almost forgotten amidst all the fuss, China's Pan Zhanle broke her own record in the 100m freestyle, setting the first world record of the Games.
He won in 46.40, easily surpassing his previous best of 46.80 set at the World Championships in Doha in February.
The shallow pool at the La Défense Arena is cited as a major reason why no world records were broken in the first four days of the competition, and this performance was an impressive one.
Australia's Kyle Chalmers won silver, while Romania's David Popovic took bronze.
Five-time Olympian Sjostrom wins gold for Sweden
Sarah Sjostrom celebrated her fifth Olympic gold medal by winning the 100m freestyle.
Sjostrom had scaled back her program, swimming only the 50m freestyle at the last two World Championships. She decided to add the 100m for the Paris Olympics, and it paid off.
Her winning time was 52.16, and the United States claimed its eighth silver medal in swimming when Torri Huske finished in 52.29. Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong took bronze.
