Leon Marchand Breaks Olympic Record in 400m Medley

Leon Marchand, a 22-year-old French swimmer, won gold in the 400m individual medley at the Paris 2024 Olympics, breaking Michael Phelps's previous Olympic record with a time of 4:02.95. Marchand's performance outpaced Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita, who took silver, and American Carson Foster, who earned bronze, by a significant margin of 5.67 seconds. The atmosphere at La Defense Arena was electric, with fans chanting his name and cheering him on throughout the race. Marchand, trained by Phelps's former coach Bob Bowman, is now considered a rising star in swimming, having also set a world record of 4:02.50 earlier in 2023. His victory marks a historic achievement as he becomes France's first Olympic champion in the individual medley event. Looking ahead, Marchand aims to compete in the 200m events later in the Games, seeking to further his Olympic legacy.