Another Meet, Another Historic Swim: Leon Marchand Continues to Prove His Status as World’s Best Male Swimmer
At the end of 2022, Romanian teenager David Popovici was a unanimous choice among Swimming World’s voting panel for World Male Swimmer of the Year. That’s understandable considering he broke a 13-year-old world record in the 100 freestyle while becoming the third-fastest man in history in the 200 free, venturing into 1:42 territory only previously touched by Paul Biedermann and Michael Phelps during the supersuit era.
Hungary’s Kristof Milak was the choice for the No. 2 spot based on his world titles in both butterfly events and his world record in the 200 fly. That left Leon Marchand in third despite becoming the first man in five years to claim the title of the world’s undisputed top medley swimmer. The list of men to sweep both IM titles at a major meet this century is a short one: Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Chase Kalisz. Marchand, then 20 (now 21), did it in grand fashion while nearly knocking off the last of Phelps’ individual world records.
In retrospect, Marchand’s quiet summer following a mid-June World Championships likely had to do with his drop to third in the voting, especially when Popovici and Milak were still swimming lights-out at the European Championships. But now, it looks like Marchand’s 2022 was his first act, a warmup for greater heights to come this year. His performance at the NCAA Championships, where he swam the fastest times ever in the 200-yard IM, 400-yard IM and 200-yard breaststroke, can best be described as insane. Yards times carry little meaning internationally, but Marchand is clearly a superior swimmer to the one from last year’s Worlds.
With all that said, Marchand has not achieved his usual world-beating form at this week’s French Championships. No problem: he has still been victorious in all four of his individual events thus far, not that his place at the upcoming World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, was ever in doubt. In the 200 IM, his time of 1:56.25 was just over a second away from his best (and not even his season-best time, having been even faster at a TYR Pro Swim Series meet shortly after the NCAA Championships).
Marchand’s 200 fly time (1:55.79) was 2.42 seconds slower than he recorded last year, when he won silver behind Milak at Worlds. His 1:46.44 200 free was a best time, but given his IM and short course success, it seems clear Marchand is capable of a 1:44-level performance or at least 1:45-low. His fifth title of the meet came in the 400 IM, in which he touched in 4:10.57, more than six seconds off his best time.
However, his first race of the meet made him the fourth-fastest performer ever — yes, ever — in the 200 breast, a race he did not even enter at last year’s Worlds. Marchand touched in 2:06.59, a mark surpassed only by Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook, Russia’s Anton Chupkov and Japan’s Shoma Sato. He swam much faster than Stubblety-Cook did in capturing last year’s world title.
We should not be so surprised by Marchand’s breaststroke success. After all, that’s the stroke in which he has pulled away from his rivals in IM races, and he split 1:07.28 in his 4:04.28 400 IM last year. In yards, Marchand surpassed Will Licon’s previous 200 breast record, which went unchallenged for five years prior to Marchand’s arrival to college swimming, by a full second.
And based on Marchand’s other performances this week in Rennes, it’s fair to expect Marchand could swim faster when he is fully tapered and prepared for Worlds. He is surely capable of joining Stubblety-Cook in the 2:05 range.
Alas, the World Championships schedule will likely prevent Marchand from attempting the 200 breast, with the semifinals of that event scheduled for minutes before the 200 IM final. At next year’s Olympics, the 200 breast and 200 fly finals take place within the same session, so Marchand would probably choose between one of the two events (although an argument can be made to pick the 200 breast, where his chances of gold would be superior to his chances over overtaking Milak in the 200 fly.
Stubblety-Cook and the rest of the world’s elite 200 breaststrokers have to be pleased that the event schedule prevents Marchand from infringing upon their main event. Once again, as with nearly every meet he has competed in over the last year, Marchand has raised the bar and wowed the world with his swimming abilities — even at a meet where he is far from his best times in most events.
No disrespect to Popovici, Milak or anyone else who might pop off over the next few months, but there’s little doubt as to the identity of the world’s best male swimmer. And it’s a safe bet that Marchand will soon have even more international hardware and his first long course world record to back his case.
Excellent analysis. Marchand can honestly bring forth thoughts of the four minute barrier being broken in the 400 IM… I think in Paris next year we definitely see him swim 4:02 or perhaps even 4:01.