Leon Marchand Swims Third-Fastest Time Ever in 400-Yard IM at NC State Invite
Another day, another record-scaring swim for Leon Marchand. The Frenchman and Arizona State sophomore is in Greensboro, N.C., this week for the NC State Invite, and after swimming a time of 1:39.28 in the 200-yard IM Thursday evening, he finished less than a second off the fastest time ever in the 400 IM Friday.
Marchand won the event in 3:33.65, the third-quickest mark in history behind Hugo Gonzalez’s 3:32.88 from the NCAA Championships in March and the American record of 3:33.42 that Chase Kalisz swam back in 2017. Marchand surpassed his own lifetime best of 3:34.08 from the NCAA final while moving ahead of Texas’ Carson Foster (3:33.79) on the all-time list.
Before Marchand’s scintillating effort in Greensboro, Foster held the nation’s top time with the 3:38.79 from the SMU Classic in October. Foster will have a chance to respond when he and the University of Texas race at the Minnesota Invite in two weeks, but regardless of what happens prior to NCAAs, this showdown will be among the most anticipated of the meet after Marchand won gold and Foster took silver in both the 400-meter IM and 200-meter IM at last summer’s World Championships.
In the NC State final, Marchand finished 9.5 seconds ahead of the runnerup, his Arizona State teammate David Schlicht (3:43.16), and another Sun Devil, Owen McDonald, placed third (3;44.27). Pending other results from invitationals Friday night, those times rank Schlicht and McDonald among the top eight swimmers in the country so far this season.