Leon Marchand’s World Record Swim Featured on SportsCenter Top 10 in the USA

There are a number of ways to determine the quality of an elite swimmer: medals won, records broken, the number of followers they have on Instagram.

But in Olympic sports like swimming, there is another important measure: an athlete’s ability to break out of the box of “Olympic sports” and into the mainstream sporting narrative.

French swimmer Leon Marchand has done just that after breaking the oldest swimming World Record in history, and Michael Phelps‘ last remaining individual World Record, on day 1 of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships. He was recognized as the #10 play of the day on the SportsCenter Top 10 on ESPN.

The clip was brief, but elicited an “oh cool” from one anchor when Phelps appeared on the podium to celebrate with the 21-year-old Marchand.

The biggest ‘hook’ for the mainstream audience was probably omitted – that it was Phelps’ only remaining individual World Record – but ESPN Senior Publicist Bea Panitz, a former swimmer at Michigan State, included it in her Tweet. Panitz oversees SportsCenter and ESPN Social.

The SportCenter Top 10, which has become more diversified in recent years, is a massive platform for any sport, and carries with it a lot of cachet. While plenty of big swimming performances, especially from the NCAA Championships, are overlooked, in the later summer months, where baseball is the only of the Big Four American sports in action, there is more often room for sports like swimming.

 

In This Story

21
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

21 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Happy Slappy
1 year ago

The people hating on ESPN crack me up.

Swimming is a non revenue sport. On. Every. Single. Level.

Jalen T
1 year ago

If he didn’t break Phelps record would it have been on SC?? SMH. Respect to Leon tho

Happy Slappy
Reply to  Jalen T
1 year ago

Nope. There were other records broken in Japan

Right Dude Here
1 year ago

DUNuNUN

DUNuNUN

Bruh
1 year ago

Okay great and all that it made it to the top 10 but let’s talk about how the boneheads at ESPN could only put it at number 10. I am a huge baseball fan and I respect the plays on there… but they happen every single day (diving catches and double plays are a common occurrence like cmon bro). It’s not every single day however that someone breaks the longest standing record in a sport. I’d bet money Judge’s HR number 62 went up to no. 1 on the top 10 back in February. Just baffles me man, put some respect on Leon, Phelps and the sport of swimming’s name.

Wethorn
Reply to  Bruh
1 year ago

Totally agree. 9 plays of the day that happen daily vs Marchand destroying the oldest world record on the books.

Thanks so much ESPN. This is why I haven’t watched SportsCenter in more than a decade.

Comet16
Reply to  Wethorn
1 year ago

Make it 30 yrs for me. Hope they go out of business

Facts
Reply to  Bruh
1 year ago

Yep Leon’s 400 IM is the equivalent of like a 50+ point close out game in game 7 to win the NBA title

KSW
1 year ago

wow. 10th place and an “oh cool”

🤦‍♂️

Marlena
1 year ago

Phelps still holds some records that I believe will never be broken. Eight gold in one Olympics. Eighteen gold in all. With five more other medals making a total of twenty three .

OOGA BOOGA
Reply to  Marlena
1 year ago

Phelps has 28 medals 23 gold

MTK
Reply to  Marlena
1 year ago

Yeah, who the hell is gonna win 5,5,3,3 individual Olympic medals over the course of 4 Olympics (and those exclude all the relay medals)?

swimlover1
Reply to  MTK
1 year ago

I believe he won 4,5,2,3 but nonetheless still an incredible feat and don’t think anyone will be able to top that for years to come!

OOGA BOOGA
1 year ago

Explain to me how breaking one of the longest standing world records in history is #10 of the day smh. Should be at least top 10 of the month bare minimum

MTK
Reply to  OOGA BOOGA
1 year ago

It’s #10 because swimming isn’t a priority sport for media coverage.

There have been few accomplishments this year in sports that compare to what Marchand did.

Drewbrewsbeer
1 year ago

Haven’t watched SC in many years, but maybe this reminded some swammers of something they once cared about.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

Read More »