NANTERRE, France — Léon Marchand clinched his fourth gold medal and set his fourth Olympic record of these games on Friday, conquering the 200-meter individual medley to the jubilation of a euphoric French crowd.
Fans at Paris La Défense Arena cheered with every stroke from their newfound national hero, surpassing the previous Olympic record set by American Michael Phelps in Beijing at 1:54.23 with a time of 1:54.06.
Chants of “Léon, Léon, Léon” filled the air as he ascended the medal podium, followed by a passionate rendition of “La Marseillaise.”
In these Olympic games, especially for the host French, Marchand has stolen the spotlight.
At the age of 22 and a graduate of Arizona State University, he secured victories in the 200 butterfly, breaststroke, and 400 individual medley earlier in the week, all in record-breaking Olympic times.
Kaylee McKeown’s Dominance in the Pool
Meanwhile, on Friday evening, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown clinched the gold in the 200 backstroke, setting an Olympic record time. Her rivalry with American Regan Smith culminated in McKeown touching the wall at 2:03.73, half a second ahead of Smith’s 2:04.26. McKeown surpassed the previous Olympic record set by American Missy Franklin in London with a time of 2:04.06.
Surprising Results for Caeleb Dressel and Florent Manaudou
The evening’s first medal race, the 50-yard freestyle, saw Australia’s Cameron McEvoy emerge victorious. The anticipated face-off between McEvoy and American defending champion Caeleb Dressel ended in disappointment for Dressel, who placed sixth, 0.36 seconds behind McEvoy.
The French audience erupted in applause as Florent Manaudou secured the bronze in the race, with the silver medal going to Benjamin Proud of Great Britain.
