Arizona State’s Leon Marchand wins 1st Olympic gold medal in home country
Jul 28, 2024, 12:23 PM | Updated: Jul 29, 2024, 9:58 am
Leon Marchand of Team France reacts after competing in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley Heats on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on July 28, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Arizona State swimming superstar Leon Marchand of France dominated the men’s 400m individual medley final in his home country on Sunday, winning his first career Olympic gold medal.
The 22-year-old set an Olympic record with a time of 4:02.95. He took an early lead and was all alone for the rest of the race, as Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita finished second with a 4:08.62 time. American Carson Foster rounded out the podium with a 4:08.66 finish.
Leon Marchand wins 400m IM gold in front of an electric crowd in Paris! 🇫🇷🥇#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/ailjAYfzPY
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024
La Defense Arena was packed with more than 15,000 fans, and supporters chanted as Marchand came up to take each breath. Chants of “Léon! Léon! Léon!” and an impromptu rendition of “La Marseillaise” broke out in the rugby stadium a full 15 minutes before Marchand walked on deck.
Marchand bested a Michael Phelps Olympic record of 4:03.84 from 2008 in Beijing. Phelps was in the building to witness it, analyzing the race for NBC.
“I started very, very fast,” he said. “I didn’t look at the other lanes. I was focused on myself.”
Marchand was under world-record pace on the final turn but did not quite beat his own mark. With a time of 4:02.50, he captured the world record at last year’s world championships in Japan.
That was another Phelps mark he bested. The all-time Olympic gold medal holder has been a mentor to Marchand, who trained with longtime American swim coach Bob Bowman at Arizona State. Marchand was the Pac-12 Men’s Swimmer of the Year three times at ASU and a 10-time NCAA champion.
CLAIMING OLYMPIC GOLD FOR THE HOST NATION!! 🥇
Léon Marchand wins his first Olympic Gold medal with an astounding time of 4:02.95 in the 400 IM!#ForksUp /// #ParisOlympics /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/Z5uKdbwXMp
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) July 28, 2024
Marchand is not done. He will jump back in the pool for the men’s 200m breaststroke, men’s 200m butterfly and men’s 200m individual medley.
His next race is Tuesday in Heat 4 of the men’s 200m butterfly.
“I was really proud of what I did tonight,” Marchand said. “I’m going to enjoy it tonight, but then I’m going to relax because I have seven or eight days left.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
