thirty fifth Indian Ocean Swim Meet
4-time Olympic gold medallist Leon Marchand swept the lads’s breaststroke occasions on the long-course meters thirty fifth Indian Ocean swim meet this weekend. The competitors was held in Saint-Denis on Réunion Island, a French territory within the Indian Ocean, a couple of week after the tip of the 2024 Brief Course World Championships, which Marchand was initially slated to attend earlier than he pulled out, citing exhaustion from a busy 12 months out and in of the pool.
Marchand set the swimming world abuzz when he introduced throughout his press convention forward of the competitors that he was heading to Australia in January to coach with Dean Boxall for just a few months on the Brisbane-based St. Peters Western membership.
He raced all three breaststroke occasions on the meet and got here away with three wins, ending forward of Saint-Raphael Swimming’s Sebastian Capogna every time.
The 200 breaststroke was Marchand’s first race of the meet. He swam a 2:13.17 in prelims, incomes lane 4 for the night’s last. He was the quickest swimmer within the heats by 6.53 seconds and although that hole narrowed significantly within the last, his 2:10.78 gained him the race by 1.87 seconds. Marchand cut up 1:02.70 on the opening 100 meters, then swam 1:08.08 on the back-half.
200 Breaststroke Closing Race Video
Courtesy: IMAZ Press Réunion
He broke the 50 breaststroke meet document 3 times the following day, decreasing the mark in prelims, semifinals, and finals. His first swim of the day was a 28.63, which he shaved three-tenths from with a 28.31 within the semifinal. He saved his greatest for final, breaking 28 seconds with a 27.86 to win.
Marchand doesn’t usually race the 50 breaststroke. His lifetime greatest coming into this meet stands at 27.79, which he swam on the primary 50 meters of his 100 breaststroke on the CA Nova Speedo Grand Problem in Might 2024, which was certainly one of his final meets earlier than the Paris Olympics. Per SwimRankings, the final time he raced the person 50 breaststroke was at this meet in 2019, earlier than he broke on to the worldwide scene or certified for his first Olympic Video games. There, he clocked 28.74.
50 Breaststroke Closing Race Video
Courtesy: IMAZ Press Réunion
Marchand’s last occasion was the 100 breaststroke. He acquired a shock in prelims, because it was Capogna who had the quickest qualifying day out of the heats, swimming a 1:01.75 whereas Marchand certified second in 1:03.81. Marchand turned it up a notch within the last, nearing the 1:00 barrier by swimming 1:00.07 for the win in a meet document. He gained by over a second, as Capogna swam 1:01.15 for one more silver medal.
This swim was the second-fastest of Marchand’s profession. He’s solely damaged the 1:00 barrier as soon as in his profession–on the CA NOVA Speedo Grand Problem–when he posted a 59.06. The 100 breaststroke, just like the 50, shouldn’t be certainly one of Marchand’s major occasions, although he does usually race breaststroke on France’s 4×100 medley relay, as he did in Paris as the house nation ended capped the competitors with bronze and a nationwide document (3:28.38). Marchand cut up 58.62 on that relay.
100 Breaststroke Closing Race Video
Courtesy: IMAZ Press Réunion
Whereas it might look like Marchand made a cease at this meet on his method to Australia, he shared in certainly one of his post-race interviews that he’s spending per week on trip within the islands, then heading again house to Toulouse for just a few days. From there, he’ll head to Brisbane in early January.
