Every generation has a swimmer who changes the sport. After Michael Phelps won many titles for more than 10 years, many people wondered who would become the next big swimming star. Léon Marchand has become that swimmer.

The French athlete has grown from a young talent into one of the world's best swimmers. He has won many titles and broken several records.

Marchand did not become successful overnight. He grew up in a family of Olympic swimmers and made brave career choices at a young age. His strong performances at the World Championships, NCAA competitions, and the Olympics made him one of swimming's biggest stars.

Leon Marchand was born in France in 2002. His mother and father both competed in the Olympic individual medley. As a child, he played various sports before choosing swimming at age 9. He showed great talent as a junior swimmer, according to ASU News.

He has also stayed successful in different events, making him one of the best individual medley swimmers of his generation.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he reached the final of the 400-meter individual medley with a personal best and French record time of 4:09.65. In the 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo, Marchand earned a sixth-place finish in the 400m individual medley (4:11.16).

After that, he moved to Arizona State University in the United States to train with coach Bob Bowman, who also coached Michael Phelps.

At Arizona State, Marchand followed a new training style with shorter but harder workouts. The change helped him improve quickly. At the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships in Atlanta, Marchand won his first individual NCAA title as a freshman for Arizona State in the 200-yard individual medley.

He clocked 1:37.69, breaking the records previously held by Caeleb Dressel and Andrew Seliskar.

At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, he broke Michael Phelps' world record in the 400-meter individual medley by 1.34 seconds. That performance showed he was one of the best all-around swimmers in the world.

Behind his success, his coach played a big role.

Bob Bowman’s influence and Léon Marchand’s bright future

Bob Bowman once said that reminded him of Michael Phelps in 2003. Many people compare Marchand to Michael Phelps, but Marchand has made his own name in swimming.

He performs well in butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. This makes him one of the most complete swimmers in the sport.

Marchand kept winning at the NCAA Championships before becoming a professional swimmer in 2024. Training with top swimmers and racing in big events helped him stay successful. At the Paris Olympics, he showed that his success was real.

At 22, he has won international titles and earned four gold medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. His calm attitude, hard work, and willingness to try new things have helped him stand out.

Marchand's success shows that talent, hard work, and courage can lead to greatness. He has gone from a talented young swimmer in France to one of the best swimmers in the world.

Marchand is set to continue his progress at the Paris 2026 European Aquatics Championships following a small injury at the recent French Championships.

With many years still left in his career, how many more records can Léon Marchand break? Let us know in the comments. 

Read more at the Daily Swimmers Club.

Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Kapil Manghnani brings over 4.5 years of experience in sports journalism, covering a wide range of sports, including Soccer, NHL, Tennis, Gymnastics, NASCAR, Swimming, and more. He has written for leading sports platforms, producing everything from breaking news and features to in-depth analysis, opinion pieces, long-form stories, and short-form content. Beyond articles, he has also scripted long-form storytelling videos for YouTube channels. His work focuses on delivering well-researched, engaging, and reader-first sports content across multiple formats.

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Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar