Leon Marchand Set to Star at French Championships; ASU Standout Tackling Six-Event Schedule
The French Swimming Championships will begin on Sunday and run through Friday in Rennes, with Leon Marchand set to be the most-watched athlete at the competition. The Arizona State University standout is scheduled to race six events while formalizing his slate for this summer’s World Championships in Fukuoka.
Marchand will open the meet with the 200 breaststroke during Sunday’s action, and will follow with entries in the 200 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley. Marchand is the reigning world champion in both medley events and the reigning silver medalist from the World Champs in the 200 butterfly. This summer, Marchand is expected to challenge the world record in the 400 IM, which has belonged to Michael Phelps since 2002.
Training under Bob Bowman at Arizona State, Marchand helped the Sun Devils finish as the runnerup in the team standings at March’s NCAA Championships. During that meet, Marchand established NCAA records in the 200 breaststroke, the 200 IM and the 400 IM. Now, he’ll look for his next starring role in the long-course pool.
While Marchand will be under the spotlight in Rennes, he’ll be joined in the chase for World Champs berths by the likes of Florent Manaudou, the 2012 Olympic champion in the 50 freestyle, and Charlotte Bonnet, the middle-distance ace.