When L’Equipe sat down with David Popovici for a characteristic, one of many issues the French newspaper requested the newly topped 200 freestyle Olympic champion about was Léon Marchand. When requested particularly about what he considered Marchand trying the 200 freestyle on the worldwide scene, Popovici, a two-time Olympic medalist in Paris, responded, “I’m at all times up for extra competitors, and I feel he’d be a terrific swimmer within the 200 freestyle. It’s not possible that he couldn’t, him being pretty much as good as he’s on the opposite occasions.”
“So convey it on, Leon,” he continued, smiling. “I can’t wait…I feel a great athlete ought to at all times be open for extra and stronger opponents that come.”
Testing out the long-course freestyle occasions on the worldwide stage is of curiosity to Marchand as nicely. In an interview with World Aquatics on the finish of the Singapore World Cup, Marchand stated that in 2025, he “will attempt to do some totally different occasions perhaps—perhaps not simply IM. I might like to do some freestyle races, however I must prepare [for them] first.”
There are few higher locations to coach for freestyle occasions than with Dean Boxall at St. Peters Western in Brisbane, Australia, precisely the place Marchand is heading in 2025. Marchand set the swimming world abuzz earlier this month when he introduced his plans to coach with Boxall for 2 or three months starting in January.
Marchand cited the possibility “to breathe, to see one thing else” as two of the first elements that went into the choice. “I spoke with my coach [Bob Bowman], he thought it was good to see one other approach of coaching. It’s the suitable time, I’ve 4 years to arrange for Los Angeles.”
Boxall put ten swimmers on Australia’s Paris Olympic roster and has coached a number of the world’s present largest stars within the mid-distance freestyle occasions, together with Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O’Callaghan, and Elijah Winnington.
After his time in Australia, Marchand plans to move to Austin, Texas, and rejoin Bowman’s professional group. Relying on when he leaves Australia, Marchand ought to have a number of weeks to coach at Texas earlier than seemingly heading to the French Championships, France’s qualifying meet for the 2025 World Championships.
Marchand has examined himself within the short-course yards freestyle occasions throughout his NCAA profession. He set NCAA and U.S. Open information within the 500-yard freestyle, swimming a 4:02.31. When he swam it, he was 4 seconds quicker than the next-fastest swimmer in historical past and remains to be two seconds quicker than the American report Rex Maurer set in November (4:04.45) to take over because the second-fastest performer in historical past. He was the primary man to interrupt 1:29 within the 200-yard freestyle, briefly holding the NCAA and U.S. Open information at 1:28.97 till Luke Hobson took the information again the subsequent day.
Each Maurer and Hobson—the brand new short-course meters 200 freestyle world report holder—prepare at Texas, so Marchand will nonetheless have mid-distance freestyle coaching companions as soon as he returns from Down Underneath earlier than probably going through a crowded worldwide 200 freestyle discipline. The lads’s 200 freestyle Olympic last was one of many closest races on the Paris Video games, with Popovici, the gold medallist, and Duncan Scott, the fourth-place finisher, separated by .15 seconds.
