The French found themselves a star at the Paris Olympics in the form of Leon Marchand. The 22-year-old stunned the arena during his race at the Men’s 400m Individual Medley, and while he fell short of the world record, he managed to bag the gold with his impressive speed.
Marchand, who already has a bunch of World Championships and NCAA titles to his name, was one of the top competitors at the Olympics. Falling in on a close battle with his American and Japanese counterparts – Carson Foster and Tomoyuki Matsushita – the Frenchman eventually managed to build up his pace to the finish line.
One might be curious to know more about the young swimming icon, who was dubbed “the French Michael Phelps” for a unique reason. Here’s a brief look into Marchand‘s life and career.
The early life of Leon Marchand: How old is he and who are his parents?
Born on 17th May 2002, Leon Marchand is the son of former Olympic medley swimmers Xavier Marchand and Celine Bonnet. With his parents already being champions at the sport, he seems to have gotten a good headstart into training.
Winning the French 200m butterfly title and bagging the bronze at the Junior World Championships in Budapest for the 400m medley, 17-year-old Marchand had impressed the country back then.
However, when the golds came in for his participation at the French Swimming Championships in 2020, fans knew he had a lot of potential. That’s when a new figure came into his life as a guiding light.
Marchand’s coach was a familiar figure
Marchand came to be known as Michael Phelps’s heir, not only because of his speed and accuracy in the pool but also because of his coach. Bob Bowman, the man responsible for pushing Phelps through some of the toughest races in competitions and life, is the Frenchman’s current mentor.
In September 2020, Marchand decided to move countries and house himself in Arizona, just to be able to train under the iconic coach. The efforts and the hurdles of shifting countries were worth it since his achievements only began piling up after that.
One of his most noteworthy achievements is breaking Phelps’ world record for the 400m Individual Medley. Clocking in at 4:02:50, he shattered the icon’s timing by 1:34 seconds.
Education and future
The Olympic gold medalist is a Computer Science major at Arizona State University. Previously, he studied the same subject at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse. He wanted to shift countries due to his desire to train under Bowman for further competitions and found it easier to do so with this approach.
Now that he has won a gold for France, there’s still room for more medals and accolades this season. He still has some of the Men’s 200m events lined up, including another Individual Medley. Fans are already hoping for a new record and more podium finishes while the Frenchman basks in the glory of his first of many achievements at the Paris Olympics.
