France’s Olympic swimming superstar rose above the noise and rose above his competitors on Sunday to stand on the top step of the podium as La Marseillaise played to a sellout crowd at La Defense Arena.
World record holder Leon Marchand crushed his competition in the men’s 400-meter individual medley to win France’s third gold medal of the Paris Games, his first ever Olympic medal in his first ever Olympic final.
Marchand, who obliterated Michael Phelps’ long-standing record in the event at 2023 World Championships, finished with a time of 4:02.95 to win by over six seconds.
Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita beat American Carson Foster by a mere 0.04 seconds to take silver.
The 22-year-old Marchand, a native of Toulouse, led from the get-go of the four-discipline race, extending decisively over the second 100-meter split, the backstroke.
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Throughout the race, the French crowd roared for Marchand on every stroke as his lead built and built.
“I started very, very fast,” Marchand told reporters in France. “I didn’t look at the other lanes. I was focused on myself.”
By the time the swimmers hit the final 50 meters, Marchand was over six seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.
For the host nation, Marchand was made into one of the faces of these Games, his face on billboards and this event being one of the hottest tickets on the ground in Paris.
After winning, Marchand went over to his team and gave out hugs to teammates and fans.
Marchand will also swim Tuesday in a pair of events, the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter breaststroke, the former of which saw him win gold in 2023 World Championships.
