ASU’s Leon Marchand Is Wielding a Dangerous Pitchfork Ahead of NCAA Championships
A little less than two years ago, Leon Marchand took to social media and flashed the Forks Up sign while wearing an Arizona State t-shirt. Even without reading Marchand’s words on Instagram, the message was clear: The young Frenchman was committing to the Sun Devils and putting his future training in the hands of ASU coach Bob Bowman.
While Marchand enjoyed a strong regular season, his performances at last week’s Pac-12 Conference Championships confirmed his status as one of the world’s rising stars. Sure, some individuals will argue his efforts over the weekend are lost on much of the world, due to their short-course yards nature, but talent is talent, and the 19-year-old possesses considerable ability.
As the Sun Devils finished third in the team standings, marking their best showing in 27 years, Marchand walked away from the meet with a trio of individual titles, which led to Swimmer of the Meet accolades, and as a member of the triumphant 800 freestyle relay. With the tandem of Grant House and Marchand, Bowman features one of the country’s premier tandems, and a squad on the rise.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys,” Bowman said. “They are fully invested in our system and culture and we are just beginning to see what they can do. Congrats to Léon for his Swimmer of the Meet honor and to our 400 free relay for posting the fifth-fastest time in history. We are now fully focused on preparations for the NCAA Championships in 17 days.”
Marchand has long been a known factor in the sport, jumpstarted by his bronze medal in the 400 individual medley at the 2019 World Junior Championships. His prowess in the 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly has also been known, and the youngster put his skill set on full display at the Pac-12 Champs. Consider these accomplishments:
- En route to the title in the 400 individual medley, Marchand posted the No. 2 time in history with an effort of 3:34.45. That mark trails only the 3:33.42 that Chase Kalisz produced on the way to the 2017 NCAA title for Georgia.
- Marchand added a Pac-12 Championships meet record in the 200 individual, thanks to a swim of 1:39.65. And for good measure, he claimed the conference title in the 200 breaststroke behind a school record of 1:50.39.
- In relay action, Marchand was equally significant for the Sun Devils, as he anchored the 800 freestyle relay to victory with a split of 1:31.16. The squad’s time of 6:07.51 set a meet record. Meanwhile, the French star anchored the 400 freestyle relay in 41.26 as the Sun Devils went 2:45.95 for the fifth-fastest time ever, and just a hundredth of a second back of Cal for the conference title. He, too, was the anchor of the runnerup 400 medley relay.
It can be argued that, from a team-standings perspective, Arizona State is set up better for the NCAA Championships than it was for its conference champs. Bowman features a team with not only top-end firepower, but five relays capable of making noise. As ASU chases a top-five finish later this month in Atlanta, Marchand will certainly play a feature role.
More, the freshman can be expected to factor into the medal picture in the 400 medley at this summer’s World Championships, which have been rescheduled for Budapest. Last summer, Marchand was a finalist in the event at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, placing sixth overall. He also advanced to the semifinals of the 200 butterfly.
Expect bigger moments ahead.
Why does Marchand’s :41.26 keep being mentioned when he was actually faster anchoring the 400 Medley relay with a :41.17.
Dude, either way he’s fast as hell. Not too many guys have that kind of range. Let’s just leave it at that.