Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “I had a lot of fun”, Léon Marchand ensured his qualification in the 200m breaststroke and the 200m butterfly

Le Toulousain au rendez-vous. MAXPPP – Matthieu Mirville

In search, among other things, of a perilous double 200m breaststroke-200m butterfly at the Paris Olympics, Léon Marchand passed his mock exam on Wednesday at the French Swimming Championships by completing four high-level races. A good omen for the Olympic meeting.

In Chartres, the French swimmer first ensured the essential: his qualification for the Games in the 200 m breaststroke and 200 m butterfly events. But on Wednesday, the stakes were elsewhere for the Toulouse resident: the day was mainly to serve as a test for him in anticipation of the Olympics.

"It’was cool, I loved it. I had a lot of fun, he declared with a smile when we asked him for his assessment of the day. Big favorite in the 200 and 400 m medleys at the Games, Marchand would also like to exploit his extraordinary abilities in two specialties, the 200 m breaststroke and butterfly, to increase his chances of getting onto an Olympic podium.

An arduous challenge since in Paris, the finals of these two races were scheduled for the same evening, an hour and a half apart. This is why the Federation had chosen, to help it in this crazy challenge, to model the program of the French Championships on that of the Games: the opportunity to check if the bet was feasible in five weeks in the La Défense Arena pools.

🎙️ #TLS | "Je suis content"

🏊 Léon Marchand a exprimé sa satisfaction à @philippelafon. Le Français est champion de France du 200 m brasse et du 200 m papillon. Il décroche deux nouveaux tickets pour #Paris2024 !

▶️ L'émission en replay : https://t.co/IBFtHcn071 pic.twitter.com/ku49KQjPP1

— francetvsport (@francetvsport) June 19, 2024

His crazy day had started with the morning series strung together in barely an hour. Result: best time in the butterfly series and second time in the breaststroke. "So far so good", declared his coach Nicolas Castel at the end of the morning session.

Then in the evening, the 22-year-old swimmer entered the stage around 6:15 p.m. for the 200m butterfly final, won in 1 min 54 sec 08/100, fourth best performance in the world in the &# 39;year. Barely 50 minutes later, he was back in the pool for the 200m breaststroke, won in 2 min 08 sec 95. Since the start of the Championships, Marchand had been eagerly awaiting this day to test his Olympic ambitions.

Stick to the plan

Certainly, fatigue was felt in the last length of the 200 breaststroke but overall: "I'm happy, it went well past", he reacted. "Everything is fine, everything is perfect for us", confirmed Castel. Enough to whet his appetite for the Games:
"This is the kind of stuff I love about swimming. I have always done quite a few fairly intense competitions and I love it. I recover quite quickly so I'm taking advantage of it."

#Chartres2024 | 🇫🇷 Léon Marchand champion de France du 200m brasse !

🏆C'est le troisième titre national pour le nageur toulousain, qui réalise à nouveau les minima pour Paris 2024. pic.twitter.com/LZKKkugAr3

— francetvsport (@francetvsport) June 19, 2024

Sleep, recovery, nutrition, time in a mixed zone… until the selfie session with fans. To ensure the day went smoothly, the staff had calibrated their program down to the minute.

What held back his clan ? "That we must stick to the plan and that the plan must be rigorous", Castel explained. "He's not yet in optimal shape, it's gradually improving so it bodes well for the future.& quot;

The one who is presented as the future star of the Games had already won his ticket for the 400m medley, his favorite race, on Monday. He still has to compete in the 200m medley on Friday.