European Male Swimmer Of The Yr — Leon Marchand

See all of our 2024 Swammy Awards right here.

The male European swimmers dominated the Paris Olympics. Via 4 days of competitors, that they had received gold in each particular person occasion, and the one occasion they hadn’t received was the 4×100 freestyle relay on the opening day of the competitors.

However Leon Marchand rose above the remainder of his competitors for this Swammy, placing on an unbelievable present over eight days as he received 4 particular person Olympic golds in entrance of his dwelling crowd.

Since he broke Michael Phelps’ 400 IM world file on the 2023 World Championships, Marchand had been heralded because the face of the Video games for the host nation France. It was a singular stress for Marchand forward of his second Olympics and a dramatic improve in consideration since Marchand broke out internationally in 2022.

The 22-year-old answered the stress in type. His first occasion of the Video games was the 400 IM on the second day, the place he made the primary Olympic medal of his profession gold, touching the wall in 4:02.95 to take down Phelps’ Olympic file from 2008. The cheers for Marchand prolonged past the world; throughout Paris on the desk tennis venue, the gang burst right into a chant for Marchand as effectively.

It was the primary of many medals for Marchand. On the fifth day of the Video games, he accomplished his soiled double and received gold within the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke, each in Olympic file time. Within the 200 fly, Marchand staged a comeback within the ultimate 50 meters, getting excessive of world file holder and defending Olympic champion Kristof Milak. He clocked 1:51.21, changing into the second-fastest swimmer in historical past.

Just a little over an hour later, he was again up within the 200 breaststroke, a race he commanded from begin to end. His 2:05.85 was a European file along with an Olympic file, and the swim made him the primary swimmer to win two golds in the identical session since Kornelia Ender in 1976. Marchand accomplished his particular person occasions with the 200 IM, the place he stormed to the win in 1:54.06 for his fourth Olympic file of the meet. He was simply six-hundredths off Ryan Lochte’s world file.

The group’s cheers for Marchand had grown louder with every race as Marchand Insanity took maintain of town—followers have been even inserting his identify into “La Marseillaise” every time the anthem performed for Marchand. Followers bought a ultimate probability to cheer for Marchand and the French swimmers on the ultimate day when Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, Marchand, Maxime Grousset, and Florent Manaudou earned bronze within the males’s 4×100 medley relay with a nationwide file of three:28.38.

There have been heavy expectations on Marchand coming into the Video games, however he delivered, delivering an Olympic efficiency for the historical past books and electrifying the streets of Paris.

Honorable Mentions:

• Daniel Wiffen, Eire: Mona McSharry bought the ball rolling for Eire on the third day of the meet, profitable Eire’s first medal since 1996 with bronze within the girls’s 100 breaststroke. Daniel Wiffen saved Eire’s momentum going the very subsequent day, placing gold within the males’s 800 freestyle. Wiffen held off a charging Bobby Finke and touched in 7:38.19, setting European and Olympic information with the fifth-fastest swim in historical past. The swim made him the primary Irishman to medal within the pool and the nation’s first gold medallist since 1996. He climbed onto the rostrum once more within the 1500 freestyle, swimming 14:39.63 for bronze. Earlier within the 12 months, Wiffen received double gold within the 800/1500 freestyle on the 2024 World Championships.
• Kristof Milak, Hungary: There was all of the stress on the planet on Marchand earlier than the Video games started, however few knew what to anticipate from Milak. The Hungarian Olympic champion and world file holder had a bumpy lead-up to the Olympics, and it was troublesome to inform what kind he would carry to Paris. Milak couldn’t halt the momentum Marchand constructed for himself, he took silver in his signature occasion, the 200 butterfly, clocking a 1:51.75. It was certainly disappointing to not stand on the high of the Olympic podium once more, however Milak rebounded. The lads’s 100 butterfly was a stacked ultimate, and he delivered, charging from fourth on the flip to the touch first in 49.90, getting underneath 50 seconds for the second time in his profession. It’s the second Olympic gold of Milak’s profession and a step up on the rostrum for him after he earned silver in Tokyo.
• David Popovici, Romania: David Popovici was on high of the swimming world in 2022 however had a troublesome 12 months on the worldwide scene in 2023, lacking the medals in his signature occasions, the 100 and 200 freestyle, the place he’d damaged the world file (100 free) and world junior file (200 free) the 12 months earlier than. Popovici was nonetheless a teen when he arrived in Paris for his second Olympics and was coping with his model of the expectations and uncertainty that swirled round each Marchand and Milak. Popovici rose to the problem offered by the loaded 100 and 200 freestyle fields. The 200 freestyle was up first, and he prevailed in one of many tightest races of the Video games, making his first Olympic medal a gold in 1:44.72, beating Matt Richards by two-hundredths. He made it again onto the rostrum within the 100 freestyle as effectively. Whereas Pan Zhanle sped away for gold, second by means of fourth have been separated by two-hundredths. Once more, Popovici bought his hand on the wall for a medal, claiming bronze in 47.49.