Léon Marchand

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.

The club is an extension of my family. At seven years old, I really started swimming. But I was skinny, I was too cold in the water and I stopped for a year or two. It was only during vacations that I enjoyed being in the water.|Marchand in Le magazine L'Équipe in 2023. He wanted to be coached by Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps' mentor. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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). 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. 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. 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.

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. One day earlier, he won the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:09.24.

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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

With his two gold medals, Marchand became the third French swimmer to achieve two gold medals in individual events at a single FINA World Aquatics Championships, after Laure Manaudou and Florent Manaudou.

On 23 June, Marchand splits a 1:47.59 for the second leg of the 4×200 metre freestyle relay in the final to help achieve a seventh-place finish in 7:08.78. In the preliminaries of the 4×100 metre medley relay on the eighth day, Marchand helped advance the relay to the final ranking second with a time of 52.09 seconds for the butterfly leg of the relay. He lowered his split to a 51.50 in the final, contributing to a time of 3:32.37 and fifth-place finish At the end of the competition, Marchand is awarded best male swimmer of the championships (with Katie Ledecky on women's side). The month after the Championships, Marchand set a new French record in the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:08.76 at the 2022 Spanish Summer Championships in Sabadell, Spain.

2023 Leading up to NCAA and conference championships season in 2023, Marchand set new NCAA and US Open records in the 400 yard individual medley with a time of 3:31.84 in a dual meet against the California Golden Bears on 21 January.

2023 Pac-12 Conference Championships On 1 March, the first day of the 2023 Pac-12 Conference Championships at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, United States, Marchand helped win the conference title in the 4×50 yard medley relay in a Pac-12 Conference and Championships record time of 1:21.69, splitting a 22.98 for the breaststroke leg of the relay. He repeated the trio of conference title, conference record, and Championships record later in the session in the 4×200 yard freestyle relay, where he contributed a lead-off time of 1:30.77 to the final mark of 6:06.30. On day three, he lowered his US Open and NCAA records in the 400 yard individual medley, setting new conference, Championships, and program records with a time of 3:31.57 to win the conference title. He splits a 49.73 for the breaststroke leg of the 4×100 yard medley relay later in the session, helping win the conference title with a program record time of 3:01.39. For his final event, the 4×100 yard freestyle relay, he led-off with a 41.61 to contribute to a second-place time of 2:46.14.

2023 NCAA Championships

Later in the month, at the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships, Marchand helped win the silver medal in the 4×50 yard medley relay in a time of 1:21.07 on the first day of competition, splitting a 22.27 for the breaststroke leg of the relay. Later in the session, he anchored with a 1:28.42 in the 4×200 yard freestyle relay to help win the silver medal in a time of 6:05.08. Both relay times set new men's swim program records for the Arizona State Sun Devils. His split time of 1:28.42 for his 200-yard portion of the 4×200 yard freestyle relay ranked as the fastest in NCAA history as well.

In the final of the 400 yard individual medley on the third evening, Marchand won the gold medal with a new NCAA, Championships, and US Open record time of 3:28.82, which was over two full seconds faster than his previous mark of 3:31.57. For his second final of the evening, he contributed the fastest 100 yard breaststroke split time in NCAA history (49.23 seconds) to a bronze medal-win in the 4×100 yard medley relay in an Arizona State Sun Devils men's swim program record time of 2:59.18. Starting the fourth finals session with the 200 yard breaststroke, he won his second repeat title and third title overall of the Championships, lowering his NCAA and US Open records as well as setting a new Championships record with a personal best time of 1:46.91. Finishing the Championships in the 4×100 yard freestyle relay later in the session, he splits a 40.55 for the second leg of the relay to contribute to placing third overall with a program record time of 2:45.12. His performances contributed to the first-ever top-five finish for the Arizona State Sun Devils men's swim program at an men's NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, with the team placing second overall with 430 points, just 52 points behind the first-place team (California Golden Bears) and 46 points ahead of the third-place team (Texas Longhorns). In June, he won the gold medal in the 200 metre breaststroke at the 2023 French Elite Swimming Championships on day one in Rennes, finishing in a French record and 2023 World Aquatics Championships qualifying time of 2:06.59 that marked a time drop of 2.17 seconds from his previous personal best and French record time. On the second day, he swam a personal best time of 1:48.70 in the preliminaries of the 200 metre freestyle and qualified ranking seventh for the final, where he won the gold medal with a personal best time of 1:46.44. For the 200 metre butterfly on day three, Marchand won the gold medal with a time of 1:55.79. He won his fourth national title on the fourth day in the 200 metre individual medley, where he finished first with a time of 1:56.25 in the final. In the 400 metre individual medley on day five, he achieved a World Championships qualifying time of 4:10.57 in the final and won the gold medal and national title.

2023 World Aquatics Championships

On 23 July, the first day of 2023 World Aquatics Championships at Fukuoka in Japan, Marchand ranked second behind Carson Foster in the preliminary heats of the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:10.88. He set a new World record in the final with a time of 4:02.50 to win the gold medal. Two days later, he qualified for the semifinals of the 200 metre butterfly with a time of 1:55.46 and tied rank of seventh in the prelims. For the semifinals, he ranked second behind Carson Foster with a time of 1:54.21 and qualified for the final the following day.

The following morning, Marchand qualified for the semifinals of the 200 metre individual medley, swimming a 1:58.38 to tie for ninth-rank heading into the semifinals. For his first race of the evening, he set a new French record in the final of the 200 metre butterfly at 1:52.43 and won the gold medal. With this time, he became the third fastest performer of all time in this event. In his final race of the day, the semifinals of the 200 metre individual medley, he ranked first with a time of 1:56.34. In the final of the 200 metre individual medley the following day, he won the gold medal with a European record time of 1:54.82. With this time, he became the third fastest performer of all time in this event. With his three gold medals, he became the first French swimmer to achieve three gold medals in individual events at a single World Aquatics Championships and the first French swimmer to win five individual gold medals in all at World Aquatics Championships ahead of Camille Lacourt and his four individual gold medals. He also became the first male swimmer representing France to win a gold medal in the 200 metre butterfly at a World Aquatics Championships.

On 28 July, Marchand splits a 1:44.89 for the fourth leg of the 4×200 metre freestyle relay in the final to help achieve a fourth-place finish in 7:03.86. On 30 July, in the preliminaries of the 4×100 metre medley relay, Marchand helped advance the relay to the final ranking second with a time of 59.57 seconds for the breaststroke leg of the relay. In the evening final of the same day, he splits a 59 seconds for the breaststroke leg of the relay and helped to achieve a fourth-place finish in 3:29.88. At the end of the competition, he is awarded best male swimmer of the championships (with Kaylee McKeown on women's side).

2024

2024 Summer Olympics

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Marchand finished with the most gold medals among individuals participants, with four, and was tied for the second-most total medals, with five (four gold, one bronze), breaking four Olympic records. On 28 July in the morning, Marchand ranked first in the preliminary heats of the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:08.30. He won the final in the evening in an Olympic record time of 4:02.95 for his first career Olympic medal, making him the tenth French swimmer to become Olympic Champion, the seventh French swimming individual Olympic Champion and the first to do so since the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

On 30 July in the morning, he ranked sixth in the preliminary heats of the 200 metre butterfly with a time of 1:55.26. The same day in the evening, he ranked second in the semifinals with a time of 1:53.50 to advance to the final. On 30 July in the afternoon, he ranked third in the preliminary heats of the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:09.55. The same day in the evening, he ranked first in the semifinals with a time of 2:08.11 to advance to the final. On 31 July in the evening, he won first the 200 metre butterfly and then the 200 metre breaststroke setting a new Olympic record and French record in a time of 1:51.21 for the 200 metre butterfly and a new Olympic record, European record and French record in a time of 2:05.85 for the 200 metre breaststroke. He has become the second swimmer to win two individual gold medals the same day since Kornelia Ender at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in the events of the 200 metre freestyle and the 100 metre butterfly.

On 1 August in the morning, Marchand ranked third in the preliminary heats of the 200 metre individual medley with a time of 1:57.86. The same day in the evening, he ranked first in the semifinals with a time of 1:56.31 to advance to the final. On 2 August, he won his fourth gold medal in the final of the 200 metre individual medley in an Olympic record time of 1:54.06, becoming the first French Olympian to win four gold medals at the same Olympics and the fourth swimmer (with Mark Spitz in 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Kristin Otto in 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and Michael Phelps in 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing) to win four individual gold medals at the same Olympics. Marchand was chosen to carry the Olympic flame during the closing ceremony.

2024 Swimming World Cup Following the Olympic Games, Marchand competed in the Swimming World Cup, winning gold in all three medley events (100 IM, 200 IM and 400 IM) at all three World Cup legs, held in Shanghai in China, Incheon in South Korea, and in Singapore. On 31 october in Singapore, he broke the 100 IM short course European record (49.92) becoming the second swimmer ever behind world record holder, American Caeleb Dressel. The day after, he also broke the 200 IM short course World record (1:48.88) and is named the overall male winner of the world cup. On 30 November, he decided to pull out of World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25 m) in Budapest due to exhaustion and injury. He is named World Aquatics' male swimmer of the year on 15 December.

2025 Following the Olympic year and going pro, Marchand decided to train with Dean Boxall in Brisbane, Australia. He got back into competition at the 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale in April, finishing second in the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:13.86, in the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:57.27 time, third in the 400 metre freestyle with a 3:48.97, and eighth in the 200 metre freestyle with a 1:49.66 time. In May, he competed in the ST TXLA Longhorns Aquatics and achieved the qualification times for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in placing first in the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:07.11 and in the 200 meter breastroke in a 2:08.25 time. He also raced in the 400 metre freestyle with a 3:48.62 time by finishing third but not reached the qualification time needed.

In June, Marchand decided to withdraw from the French Championships in Montpellier, France and got an exemption from the French Swimming Federation. Finally, he took part in a meet in Indianapolis, United States and swam four events. He finished first in the 100 meter breastroke in 59.95 and in the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:57.23 time. He placed second in the 200 meter backstroke in 1:57.14 and seventh in the 100 meter freestyle in 49.70.

2025 World Aquatics Championships

On 30 July, the fourth day of 2025 World Aquatics Championships at Singapore , Marchand ranked first in the preliminary heats of the 200 metre individual medley with a time of 1:57.63. He set a new World record in the second semifinal in the evening with a time of 1:52.69. One day later, he wins the gold medal in the final of the 200 metre individual medley with a time of 1:53.68. On 1 August, he splits a 1:44.34 for the fourth leg of the 4×200 metre freestyle relay in the final to help achieve a sixth-place finish in 7:03.69.

The last day of the competition, Marchand ranked seventh in the preliminary heats of the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:13.19. In the evening, he wins the gold medal in the final of the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:04.73. Thirty minutes later, he splits a 58.44 for the breaststroke leg of the final of the 4×100 metre medley relay and helped to achieve a silver medal in a new French record of 3:27.96. At the end of the competition, he is awarded best male swimmer of the championships (with Summer McIntosh on women's side).

2025 Swimming World Cup

Léon Marchand takes part in the first stop of the Swimming World Cup in Carmel (10 October-12 October) in the United States. He races four events (200 meter individual medley, 400 meter freestyle, 200 meter backstroke and 200 meter breaststroke). In the 200 meter individual medley, he finishes second behind Shaine Casas in a time of 1.49.73. In the 400 meter freestyle, he takes the third place in a time of 3.38.25. In the 200 meter backstroke, he finishes second behind Hubert Kós in a French record time of 1.47.68. Finally, in the 200 meter breaststroke, he takes also the second place behind Caspar Corbeau in a new French record time of 2.02.00.

In December, Marchand closes the year by taking part in 2025 Toyota U.S. Open in home at Austin. He races five events. He wins the 400 meter freestyle in a time of 3.44.70. In 100 meter butterfly, he finishes third in 51.20. In 100 meter backstroke, he finishes 26th in series (56.87) and doesn't qualify for finals. In 100 meter breaststroke, he finishes first in the final B in 1.00.56. To conclude the meet, he wins the 200 meter butterfly in a time of 1.52.57.

2026

Léon Marchand started the year in competing at the 2026 USA swimming Pro Swim Series in Austin. On 15 January, he won the 200 meter individual medley in 1.57.65 and placed second in the 200 meter backstroke in 1.57.90 behind his French compatriot Yohann Ndoye-Brouard. The following day, he won the 400 meter individual medley in a time of 4.13.21. He concluded the meet on 17th by winning the 200 meter breaststroke in 2.09.72.

Marchand took part in a new Pro Swim Series in Westmont from 4 to 7 March. The first day he won a double 200 meter backstroke/200 meter breaststroke, in 1.57.56 for the first and 2.10.06 for the second. The third day he placed sixth in 200 meter freestyle in a time of 1.47.12. Finally, the last day he finished fourth in 400 meter freestyle in 3.48.79. He took part in another competition (Speedo Fort Lauderdale open) from 29 April to 2 May. On 30 April, he won the 200 meter butterfly in 1.53.08. The next day, he won the 400 meter individual medley in a time of 4.09.33. Finally, the last day he won a double 200 meter breaststroke/200 meter individual medley, in 2.09.04 for the first and 1.57.28 for the second. He participated in French championships from 27 June to 2 July. The first day, he won the 400 meter individual medley in 4.04.56, the world best performance of the year and fifth-fastest swim in world history.

International championships (50 m)

International championships (25 m)

Swimming World Cup circuits Marchand has won the following medals at World Aquatics Swimming World Cup circuits.

Edition Gold medals Silver medals Bronze medals Total 2024 9 1 10 2025 3 1 4 Total 9 4 1 14

Personal best times Long course metres (50 m pool) Event Time Meet Location Date Notes Ref 100 m freestyle 49.70 2025 Indy Summer Cup Indianapolis, Indiana, United States 28 June 2025 200 m freestyle 1:43.76 r 2026 European Championships Paris, France 10 August 2026 400 m freestyle 3:43.14 2026 European Championships Paris, France 16 August 2026 NR 100 m backstroke 54.55 2024 CA Speedo Grand Challenge hosted by NOVA Irvine, California, United States 26 May 2024 200 m backstroke 1:57.14 2025 Indy Summer Cup Indianapolis, Indiana, United States 28 June 2025 100 m breaststroke 59.06 2024 CA Speedo Grand Challenge hosted by NOVA Irvine, California, United States 24 May 2024 200 m breaststroke 2:05.85 2024 Summer Olympics Paris, France 31 July 2024 OR, ER 100 m butterfly 51.20 2025 Toyota U.S. Open Austin, Texas, United States 5 December 2025 200 m butterfly 1:51.21 2024 Summer Olympics Paris, France 31 July 2024 OR, NR 200 m individual medley 1:52.69 2025 World Championships Singapore 30 July 2025 WR 400 m individual medley 4:02.50 2023 World Championships Fukuoka, Japan 23 July 2023 WR

Short course metres (25 m pool) Event Time Meet Location Date Notes Ref 100 m freestyle 47.46 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Incheon, South Korea 25 October 2024 200 m freestyle 1:40.91 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Singapore 2 November 2024 400 m freestyle 3:38.25 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Carmel, United States 10 October 2025 200 m backstroke 1:47.68 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Carmel, United States 10 October 2025 NR 200 m breaststroke 2:02.00 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Carmel, United States 12 October 2025 NR 100 m individual medley 49.92 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Singapore 31 October 2024 ER 200 m individual medley 1:48.88 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Singapore 1 November 2024 WR 400 m individual medley 3:58.30 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Incheon, South Korea 26 October 2024 NR

Short course yards (25 yd pool) Event Time Meet Location Date