Editorial content for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships is sponsored by FINIS, a longtime partner of Swimming World and leading innovator of suits, goggles and equipment. World Championships, Day Four Semifinals: Leon Marchand In Position For 200 Medley Repeat It’s been the Leon Marchand Show through the first half of the World Championships, the French star matching the lofty expectations that followed him into the competition with a pair of gold medals in Fukuoka. And the second half of the meet could feature the 21-year-old grabbing a third title. A little more than a half hour after he blew away the field in the 200-meter butterfly, Marchand posted the fastest time in the semifinals of the 200 individual medley. The reigning champion in the event, Marchand opened up a big lead through the first three legs and cruised home on freestyle to finish in 1:56.34. That time was just ahead of the 1:56.50 turned in by Great Britain’s Duncan Scott in the same semifinal. Given that Marchand went 4:02.50 to break the world record in the 400 individual medley on the opening night of the meet, he figures to give Ryan Lochte’s 12-year-old mark a push in the 200 medley. Lochte set the longstanding record of 1:54.00 at the 2011 edition of the World Championships in Shanghai. Marchand captured the world title in the event last year in 1:55.22. The silver medalist in the 200 IM at last year’s World Championships, American Carson Foster will look for a return to the podium. Like Marchand, Foster competed in the 200 butterfly on Wednesday night. Foster finished sixth in that event, unable to find a rhythm. But he knew he had to bounce back quickly and that’s exactly what unfolded, with the University of Texas star going 1:56.55 for the third seed. “It takes practice, obviously,” Foster said about rebounding. “There’s been times where it sucks to practice that stuff, but it’s worth it for meets like this. I was pretty pissed about it for a few minutes, but it’s a long meet and I earned my spot in these other events, so I owe it to the rest of the team to have a short memory.” Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez (1:56.58) and the Japanese duo of So Ogata (1:57.06) and Daiya Seto (1:57.15) also moved onto the final, along with Great Britain’s Tom Dean (1:57.18) and American Shaine Casas (1:57.23). Photo Courtesy:
