Leon Marchand. Photo: photosport
World record holder Leon Marchand stormed to the 400m individual medley gold at his home Paris Olympics to send fans into delirium at La Defense Arena and affirm himself as one of the rarest of swimming talents.
The 22-year-old, nicknamed the "French Michael Phelps", carried the expectations of a nation into his first event but he simply crushed his rivals in a swim of four minutes and 2.95 seconds that broke the Olympic record and flirted with his own world record mark.
It was not so much a contest as a coronation for Marchand, with Japan's silver medallist Tomoyuki Matsushita and bronze-winning American Carson Foster never threatening the young Frenchman as he became his nation's first Olympic champion in an individual medley event.
New Zealand's Lewis Clareburt - who won the world championship gold medal over the distance in February in Marchand's absence - also couldn't keep pace and had to settle for sixth place.
Lewis Clareburt. Photo: photosport
The crowd were berserk from start to finish. There were synchronised cheers of "Allez! Allez (Go! Go!) with every stroke of his breaststroke leg and then one, long deafening roar as he motored home in the freestyle.
"It was crazy. I think I will remember this one for a very long time," Marchand said.
"The emotions are very difficult to describe. It was incredible for a swimmer.
"I opened my eyes, listened to everything that was happening around. And that really pushed me to already have a great race and have a lot of fun.
"I opened my present this afternoon, this evening."
Leon Marchand. Photo: photosport
Prepared by Bob Bowman, the coach who turned American Phelps into a gold medal machine, Marchand will bid for another three individual titles as the face of his home Games.
On the strength of his first on Sunday, with nerves shaken off and steely execution, Marchand could emerge with four individual golds at a single Games, a Phelps-esque achievement if ever there was one.
The American great himself was a prominent presence at the venue, where he is working with US broadcaster NBC, and he watched on as his would-be successor was raucously feted by the home fans.
In terraces festooned with tricolore flags, the crowd joined Marchand in belting out "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem, as he stood atop the podium.
- Reuters
