Léon Marchand (; born 17 May 2002) is a French professional swimmer actively training in the US. He is the World record holder in the long course 200 and 400 metres individual medley, and in the short course 200 metres individual medley; the Olympic record holder in the 200 and 400 metres individual medley, 200 metres butterfly and the 200 metres breaststroke; the European record holder in the long course 200 and 400 metres individual medley and the 200 meters breaststroke, in the short course 100 and 200 metres individual medley and the French record holder in the long course 200 and 400 metres individual medley, 400 metres freestyle, 200 metres butterfly and the 200 metres breaststroke, and in the short course 100, 200, 400 metres individual medley and the 200 metres breaststroke. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals in the 200 m medley, 200 metre breaststroke, 200 metre butterfly, and 400 metre medley. He became the fourth swimmer and third male swimmer in Olympic history to win four individual gold medals at a single Games, thus dubbed the "modern Michael Phelps".
As a member of the Arizona State University swim team, at the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, Marchand won NCAA titles in the 200 yard breaststroke and 200 yard individual medley. At the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, he won NCAA titles in the 200 yard breaststroke, 200 yard individual medley, and 400 yard individual medley. At the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in his last year before going pro, he won NCAA titles in the 200 yard breaststroke, 500 yard freestyle and 400 yard individual medley. He won with his college swim team the NCAA championship title for the first time ever.
Early life Marchand was born on 17 May 2002 in Toulouse, France. He is the son of former medley swimmers Xavier Marchand and Céline Bonnet. His uncle, Christophe Marchand, is also a former freestyle swimmer. As a child, Marchand first took up judo and then rugby, and although he was not pushed into swimming by his parents, he quickly felt at ease in the water with the Dauphins du TOEC club at the age of six.
Trained and coached by Nicolas Castel in the Toulouse club until 2021, Marchand began training with an adjusted schedule around the age of 12 or 13. Although he was versatile in freestyle, butterfly, and breaststroke and a good swimmer over various distances, he was not the best national swimmer of his generation in the youth categories, being shorter and less powerful than some of his young competitors. In 2017, as a teenager, he tried the individual medley on his parents' advice and developed a passion for the event.
Alongside his sports career, Marchand earned a scientific baccalaureate with highest honors and pursued computer science studies at Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University. Encouraged by his parents, Marchand moved to the United States in August 2021, settling in Arizona. He wanted to be coached by Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps' mentor. He was a junior during 2023–24 at Arizona State University, majoring in computer science. He then followed Bowman to Texas.
Career Pre-2022
2019 World Junior Championships
In August 2019, at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Marchand won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley with a French record time of 4:16.37.FINA (24 August 2019). "7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships 2019 Budapest (HUN): Men's 400m Individual Medley Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 3 April 2022.Kehoe, Lydia Ferrari (20 March 2021). "Leon Marchand Downs Own French National Record In 400 IM". SwimSwam. Retrieved 3 April 2022. He also placed seventh with a time of 2:01.53 in the 200 metre individual medley, seventh swimming a 1:58.73 in the final of the 200 metre butterfly, tenth in the 200 metre breaststroke with a 2:15.13, and 15th in the 100 metre breaststroke in a time of 1:03.03.FINA (25 August 2019). "7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships 2019 Budapest (HUN): Results Book". Omega Timing. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
2020 Summer Olympics
Marchand qualified in his first event for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo at the 2021 French Elite Swimming Championships in Chartres, making the French Olympic Team in the 400 metre individual medley with a personal best and French record time of 4:09.65."Championnats de France Elite – 50 m: Résultats 400 4 Nages Messieurs" (in French). French Swimming Federation. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2022.Byrnes, Liz (15 June 2021). "Leon Marchand Goes 4:09.65 For French 400IM Record At Olympic Trials; Duhamel & Lesaffre Book Tickets". Swimming World. Retrieved 3 April 2022.Pecoraro, Nick (15 June 2021). "19-Year-Old ASU Commit Leon Marchand Sets French 400 IM Record At 4:09.65". SwimSwam. Retrieved 3 April 2022. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Marchand placed sixth in the 400 metre individual medley with a 4:11.16, tenth in the 100 metre medley relay, 14th in the 200 metre butterfly with a 1:55.68, and 18th in the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:58.30.Omega Timing; Atos (1 August 2021). "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Swimming Results Book" . International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
2022
2022 NCAA Championships
At the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships in March in Atlanta, United States, Marchand won his first individual NCAA title of his freshman year for the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 200 yard individual medley, winning the event and setting new NCAA, NCAA Championships, and US Open records with his time of 1:37.69, which was over four-tenths of a second faster than the old marks of 1:38.13 set by Caeleb Dressel in 2018 (NCAA and US Open records) and 1:38.14 set by Andrew Seliskar in 2019 (NCAA Championships record).De George, Matthew (24 March 2022). "2022 NCAA Men's Championships: Leon Marchand Breaks Dressel 200 IM Mark with 1:37.69". Swimming World. Retrieved 2 April 2022.Gibbs, Robert (24 March 2022). "Freshman Leon Marchand Takes Down Caeleb Dressel 200 IM Record With 1:37.69". SwimSwam. Retrieved 2 April 2022. It was the first time since 2000 that a man from the Arizona State University swim program won an individual title in swimming at an NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving championships."Freshmen Sates, Marchand win swimming events at NCAAs". New Haven Register. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022. He won a second NCAA title in the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing 0.56 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Max McHugh with a time of 1:48.20.Rieder, David (26 March 2022). "NCAA Men's Championships: Leon Marchand Concludes Magnificent NCAA Debut With 200 Breast Title". Swimming World. Retrieved 3 April 2022."Cal takes men's swimming and diving crown back from Texas". ESPN. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022. He placed second in the 400 yard individual medley, with a 3:34.08 to finish behind Hugo González, as well as in the 4×100 yard freestyle relay, where he split a 41.31 for the second leg of the relay to help finish in a final time of 2:46.40.Rieder, David (25 March 2022). "NCAA Men's Championships: Hugo Gonzalez Crushes Chase Kalisz's 400 IM Record With 3:32.88". Swimming World. Retrieved 3 April 2022.Rieder, David (26 March 2022). "NCAA Men's Championships: Texas Finishes Meet on High Note With 400 Free Relay Triumph". Swimming World. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
Seven days after the end of the 2022 NCAA Championships, Marchand set a new French record in the 200 metre individual medley at the 2022 TYR Pro Swim Series at Northside Swim Center in San Antonio, United States, with a time of 1:56.95 and won the silver medal behind Shaine Casas who finished in 1:56.70.Penland, Spencer (2 April 2022). "Leon Marchand Shatters French Record In 200 IM At PSS San Antonio – 1:56.95". SwimSwam. Retrieved 3 April 2022."Casas clocks top 200m medley time of 2022". France 24. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022. One day earlier, he won the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:09.24.Hy-Tek (1 April 2022). "2022 TYR Pro Swim Series – San Antonio". swmeets.com. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
2022 World Aquatics Championships
On 18 June, the first day of 2022 World Aquatics Championships at Danube Arena in Budapest, Hungary, Marchand set a new French record in the 400 metre individual medley in the preliminary heats with a time of 4:09.09, qualifying for the evening final ranking first.FINA (18 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 400m Individual Medley Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 18 June 2022."Record de France du 400m 4 nages pour Léon Marchand aux Mondiaux" (in French). L'Équipe. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022. He lowered his French record and set a new European record and Championships record in the final with a time of 4:04.28 to win the gold medal.FINA (18 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 400m Individual Medley Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 18 June 2022."Léon Marchand champion du monde sur le 400m 4 nages" (in French). L'Équipe. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022. With this time, he became the second fastest performer of all time in this event. Two days later, he qualified for the semifinals of the 200 metre butterfly with a time of 1:56.38 and tied rank of eleventh in the prelims.FINA (20 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Butterfly Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 June 2022. For the semifinals, he ranked 0.18 seconds ahead of the next-fastest swimmer, fifth-ranked Luca Urlando of the United States, and qualified for the final the following day with his new French record time of 1:54.32.FINA (20 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Butterfly Semifinals Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 June 2022."Milak breaks world record; 3 more US golds at swimming worlds". Arab News. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
The following morning, Marchand qualified for the semifinals of the 200 metre individual medley, swimming a 1:58.70 to tie for eighth-rank heading into the semifinals.FINA (21 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Individual Medley Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 21 June 2022. For his first race of the evening, he set a new French record in the final of the 200 metre butterfly at 1:53.37 and won the silver medal, finishing behind Kristóf Milák of Hungary and ahead of Tomoru Honda of Japan.FINA (21 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Butterfly Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 21 June 2022."Natation : Léon Marchand s'offre l'argent sur 200 m papillon aux Mondiaux" (in French). Le Figaro. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022. In his final race of the day, the semifinals of the 200 metre individual medley, he set a new French record with a time of 1:55.75 and qualified for the final ranking first.FINA (21 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Individual Medley Semifinals Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 21 June 2022. In the final of the 200 metre individual medley the following day, he won the gold medal with a French record time of 1:55.22.FINA (22 June 2022). "19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Men's 200m Individual Medley Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 22 June 2022.Gregoire, Florian (22 June 2022). "Léon Marchand : un 2e titre de champion du monde, le nageur dans l'historie" (in French). L'Internaute. Retrieved 22 June 2022."Título mundial en 200 m estilos para nadador francés Léon Marchand" (in Spanish). Infobae. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022."Natation: Léon Marchand champion du monde de 200m quatre nages" (in French). L'Express. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.Yibo, Cao (23 June 2022). "French Marchand wins men's 200m individual medley at FINA worlds". The Star. Retrieved 23 June 2022.