Léon Marchand at the Paris 2024 Olympics: “It starts with a promise I made to a kid 3 years ago”, his coach Bob Bowman looks back on this crazy evening

After Léon Marchand's two victories on Wednesday evening, his two coaches, Bob Bowman and Nicolas Castel, spoke about the exploits of their protégé, who once again achieved two historic races.

“It was an exceptional evening”, said the American coach, his eyes filled with admiration. “I hope he doesn't forget it and that he remembers everything”. A memorable first race, which saw the Frenchman drop in the last 50 meters the reigning world record holder, Kristóf Milák, and beat the Olympic record.

Bowman knew very well that this race was not going to be easy: "The butterfly was a very difficult challenge because Milak is at a higher level" explained the former coach of Michael Phelps, “So when I saw that he had managed to win it, I wasn't worried about the second race, because he was in a good frame of mind.”

A successful challenge

This 200m butterfly was above all a challenge that Marchand and Bowman had set for themselves. “I kept a promise that I had made to a “kid three years ago” the American joked. The challenge was simple: to allow Marchand to win the 200m breaststroke and the 200m butterfly at the Games. A success that made his coach proud, “The way he managed his race, his attitude, it was incredible, I'm so proud of him”.

An evening that was also historic for his Toulouse coach, Nicolas Castel: “There are no words to describe what just happened tonight, to experience it in this atmosphere, it makes us very happy."

But Bowman was keen to point out that even with three gold medals around your neck, the work is never done. "He can still improve,", he said, he has to survive the success, he has to understand what's going to happen next, he doesn't know yet, but I do."