Declared the face of these Paris Games, Leon Marchand delivers with a thrilling victory in the 400-meter individual medley.
NANTERRE, France — If you somehow could harness the energy pulsing through Paris La Defense Arena during the breaststroke leg of the men’s 400-meter individual medley final Sunday night — two lengths of the pool spanning a little more than a minute, some 15,000 fans on their feet, voices joined in a deafening and rhythmic sing-shout each time Leon Marchand’s swim-capped head bobbed up out of the water — it could power the rest of these, a global television audience and a runaway train of hype...
“He told me that he had watched the final with his whole family, that they had screamed, really enjoyed the moment,” Marchand later told French reporters. “It was cool.” The French president also wished him well with the rest of his Olympic program, which includes the 200 IM, 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke.Scattered across La Defense Arena on Sunday were living, breathing segments of a human arc that collectively closed a great circle of life around Marchand..
And on the pool deck was Bob Bowman, who built his name in the sport as Phelps’s coach, guiding the latter to an unprecedented 23 Olympic golds — his reputation such that, some four years ago, a young Marchand cold-emailed him asking if he would be willing to train a then-18-year-old French kid with big dreams and some intriguing times in the IMs.“He’s the best in history in this event,” said Bowman, who would know perhaps better than anyone on the planet. “He can be better.
Once settled into their seats, they did not have to wait long. The 400 IM final was the evening’s first race, with Marchand, in the center lane of the pool, the last to be introduced. Unlike Phelps’s glowering, brooding bundle of prerace intensity, Marchand sauntered onto the pool deck waving to the crowd with both arms. He even shot a warm smile at the television camera following him.In the moment, it seemed like maybe Marchand wasn’t prepared to meet the moment with the proper focus.
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