Leon Marchand: “A 1:52 In The 200m — That’s Insane” (World Championships Flash Quotes)

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Entry Book
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

The 2025 World Championships are in full swing, and tonight in Singapore, finals unfolded in the men’s 800 freestyle, women’s 200 freestyle, men’s 200 butterfly, men’s 50 breaststroke, and mixed 4×100 medley relay. Additionally, numerous semifinals took place, including the men’s 200 IM, where Leon Marchand obliterated Ryan Lochte’s 14-year-old world record.

Hear what your favorite swimming stars had to say after their races, with quotes courtesy of World Aquatics. For SwimSwam’s full session recap, refer to the bullet points above.

Men’s 800 Freestyle — FINAL

• World Record: 7:32.12 — Zhang Lin (CHN), 2009
• World Junior Record: 7:43.37 — Lorenzo Galossi (ITA), 2022
• World Championships Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin (CHN), 2009
• 2023 World Champion: Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN), 7:37.00
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Daniel Wiffen (IRL), 7:38.19

1. Ahmed Jaouadi (TUN), 7:36.88
2. Sven Schwarz (GER), 7:39.96
3. Lukas Märtens (GER), 7:40.19
4. Bobby Finke (USA), 7:46.42
5. Victor Johansson (SWE), 7:47.00
6. Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR), 7:49.09
7. Benjamin Goedemans (AUS), 7:50.72
8. Daniel Wiffen (IRL), 7:58.56

GOLD – Ahmed Jaouadi (TUN):

On what this gold medal means: 

“Actually it means a lot. It’s the third best time ever… it feels great. Especially with this season. I didn’t go back to training until March. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for this. Especially after Budapest, I got into some kind of depression, I wasn’t ready to go back to training at some point. It makes me really happy.

“During the last days of training, I was expecting this, and I knew that I will go fast. But at some point, I didn’t have a lot of confidence going through. But my team, my staff, the people around me knew how to control things, take things in control, and helped me through this.”

On the race: 

“I knew Martens would go fast. He’s the 400m champion, I knew he had more speed than me. I was just trying to control the race and see what happens during the race. I saw that the rhythm wasn’t that fast, so I decided to just go and make the move.

“I just pushed my head down. I saw that as soon as I started to push down on my arms, I started to go faster than the others, I started to pull out. I didn’t hesitate to go faster, I just kept going faster and faster. I knew that if I had that much difference between me and the others, I wouldn’t have to go faster again. I just knew that I would win.”

SILVER – Sven Schwarz (GER):

On taking silver:

“Yeah, it’s absolutely amazing. In the beginning, I was like ‘I want to get a medal.’ But it is not easy, because you have five guys who can go under 7:40. Thankfully, I’m the second guy. I’m pretty happy. It’s so amazing to be here.”

On the 1500m race:

“From now on, I won’t be in any pain for a bit. So we will see what (medal) we can get in two days, but it would be very hard as 1500 is a longer distance.”

BRONZE – Lukas Märtens (GER):

On the pace of the race: 

“Not that fast for the first 400m, so for me it was more easy than for some other people. It was one of my best races. The time was not my best time, but it was a good race. At the end, I earned a medal and it’s step forward.”

On how confident he is in his speed:

“A lot, but at the end, it counts who the fastest is at the end. Third place and second place for Germany is very very good. We have such good training groups… we have world-class athletes like Florian Wellbrock in my team and he is one of the best Gemran swimmers of all-time. I’m honoured that I can train with him.”

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 1:52.23 – Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 2024
• World Junior Record: 1:53.65 – Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2023
• Championship Record: Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) – 1:52.85
• 2023 World Champion: Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) – 1:52.85
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) – 1:53.27

1. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS), 1:53.48
2. Li Bingjie (CHN), 1:54.52
3. Claire Weinstein (USA), 1:54.67
4. Freya Colbert (GBR), 1:55.06
5. Barbora Seemanova (CZE), 1:55.20
6. Erika Fairweather (NZL), 1:55.61
7. Jamie Perkins (AUS), 1:56.55
8. Erin Gemmell (USA), 2:00.16

GOLD – Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS):

On competing after a difficult journey here:

“Heading into this week has been a whirlwind. Having a big long break after the Olympics was well needed, and then coming back from injury myself. I am so thankful to have an amazing coach, to guide me through this difficult time. I know it has been hard for a lot of people to come back after the Olympics, but I am very grateful to have a good support from the team to get me through this mentally and physically.”

On coming back from the down and finding love for the sport again:

“A positive environment definitely makes a world of difference. It is nice to come to a pool and feel at home. To know that everyone supports you no matter what. I am very thankful to have such a strong team behind me. We have 11 athletes on this team so it is exciting to see some rookies come through from our team. The Australian team in general is just so connected, and we all treat each other like a family, which makes it such an enjoyable ride.”

SILVER – Li Bingjie (CHN):

On her physical state: 

“I think I’ve recovered quite well. It was a bit of a strain yesterday, but compared to training sessions, it was not so bad, so I’ve recovered quite well.”

On taking silver in a strong field: 

“I’m quite pleased with the result. It’s good news for my 400m, the front part of that race. I want to be able to give my team an advantage in the relay. I think this is good for me, whether it’s for the front part of my 400m, or the relay events. It all contributes to something. This helps me be more confident for the relay events.

“The 400m event gave me a good start, and that set me up well for the rest of the meet. I was able to race with an open mind, and just compete freely.”

BRONZE – Claire Weinstein (USA):

On what this medal means to her after the Olympics:

“Medalling internationally is kind of something I’ve only ever dreamed of, so it’s really cool getting on the podium. I went into this week wanting to go a better time than that, but I can’t be upset with a medal.”

On whether this win gives her confidence for the rest of the event:

“Yeah, definitely. I think each day, I get better. A week ago, I was in the trenches and didn’t know how this week would go, so going at the best time definitely gives me confidence that I’m moving in the right direction.”

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

• World Record: 1:50.34 – Kristof Milak (HUN), 2022
• World Junior Record: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak (HUN), 2017
• Championship Record: 1:50.34 – Kristof Milak (HUN), 2022
• 2023 World Champion: Leon Marchand (FRA) – 1:52.43
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Leon Marchand (FRA) – 1:51.21

1. Luca Urlando (USA), 1:51.87
2. Krzysztof Chmielewski (POL), 1:52.64
3. Harrison Turner (AUS), 1:54.17
4. Ilya Kharun (CAN), 1:54.34
5. Carson Foster (USA), 1:54.62
6. Alberto Razzetti (ITA), 1:54.85
7. Chen Juner (CHN), 1:55.25
8. Federico Burdisso (ITA), 1:55.27

GOLD – Luca Urlando (USA):

On the race: 

“It was a great race, just embracing the moment, trying to have as much fun as I can with it too.

On getting here after battling injuries over the years:

“The belief that I can get back to a moment like this after all that adversity. Just internal belief.”

On winning his first world title:

“Oh, it’s huge. Winning a world championship was my goal from the beginning of the season. To be able to actually do it is a whole another thing and doing it in a best time fashion… I truly can’t put it into words.”

On how winning the title helps his confidence:

“I hope to just build off more experiences like this. It’s a huge stepping stone for 2028. I have some new goals going forward, going to work through them with my coach and see how much I can get better at the little things. Just continue with that.”

On his thoughts before the start of the race:

“Just sticking to my race routine. I like to think about my kick rhythm before I get into the water, so just trying to think about one thing at a time and that being my kick routine.”

On how he felt after the first lap:

“It felt good, felt smooth, controlled, where I wanted to be.”

SILVER – Krzysztof Chmielewski (POL):

On silver:

“I feel amazing. I feel really good in this meet, and I’m happy that I can beat national records in my personal best times.”

On the future:

“And now, I’m gonna take a little bit of rest and see what happens in the future. Of course, I am planning to swim as fast as I can next summer.

On specialising in butterfly:

“I don’t really know. I have tried all of the strokes. I have swum long distance swim, like 400 fly, but 200 fly, it just sticks with me. It feels the best.”

BRONZE – Harrison Turner (AUS):

On the result: 

I’m just thrilled to be here… so unreal. I didn’t have too much break over Chrissy… I just dug deep over the last few months. I was determined to try and put in a good effort at trials, and I was lucky enough to do that. And yeah, here we are.

“I never thought I’d be actually talking to you guys… this is something I dream about. It’s just that fire that burns, you know, deep within your heart. It’s why you rock up, do the early mornings, late nights, you’re feeling sore, you’re feeling shattered through the week, and you just pick yourself up because you know you’ve got a job to do. So I’m just so stoked to be here representing Australia. I love it so much – it’s an honour to rep the green and gold.”

On what bronze means: 

“Man, it hasn’t sunk in yet. Like, I looked up on the board, and I had to look there for a bit. So I was like, does it say third? I honestly couldn’t… didn’t believe that that was actually gonna happen. You know, it’s just unreal.

“To be here in the final, you know, coming in eighth… so just in. But my coach was like, mate, you got a lane, you’ve got a chance. So just back yourself. I have real good skill of believing myself. That just helps myself, you know, digging deep, and just knowing that you get to that 150 and everything is screaming at you to stop, you can just bite your tongue and just dig.”

On who was watching in the stands: 

“I’m very lucky, very blessed. My whole family’s here. Obviously I couldn’t have done it without them. I love my mum and dad, my two younger brothers so much. I just couldn’t have done it without their support. So I’m just very lucky that they’re in the stands cheering for me.”

MEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty (GBR), 2017
• World Junior Record: 26.97 – Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA), 2017
• Championship Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty (GBR), 2017
• 2023 World Champion: Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 26.29

1. Simone Cerasuolo (ITA), 26.54
2. Kirill Prigoda (NAB), 26.62
3. Qin Haiyang (CHN), 26.67
4. Ivan Kozhakin (NAB), 26.73
5. Melvin Imoudou (GER), 26.74
6. Chris Smith (RSA), 26.75
7. Koen de Groot (RSA), 26.81
8. Luka Mladenovic (AUT), 26.89

GOLD – Simone Cerasuolo (ITA):

On the race: 

“It is amazing for me. This win is unbelievable, and this race was very crazy, so I am happy for this win. I thought of doing the right things. I just thought about myself and my opponents. And that was it. I am happy to have taken the gold medal home.

“(I feel) lots of happiness.  It’s a dream come true. I don’t know what to say. At the moment, I am a bit confused but I told myself ‘Finally I made it’.

On eyeing the world record: 

“Next time hopefully, with calmness. I think that in worlds and European finals, and in the future also in the Olympic ones, breaking a record is very difficult. The 50m is a very fast competition, and tense. But with my humility, I’ll put my head down to work and let’s see what comes out from it.”

SILVER – Kirill Prigoda (NAB):

On taking silver from Lane 1:

“I did not expect that. It was fantastic, today is a good day.”

BRONZE – Qin Haiyang (CHN):

On the race: 

“I’m quite pleased with the result, actually. I’ve done what I can based on where my body is at right now. As I said previously, whether or not there is a medal at the end of the race for me, I can accept it. I’m pleased with how I performed in the semi-finals, as well as today, and as long as I feel that way, then it’s good enough for me.”

MEN’S 200 IM – SEMI-FINALS

• World Record: 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (USA) – 2011
• World Junior Record: 1:56.99, Hubert Kos (HUN) – 2021
• Championship Record: 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (USA) – 2011
• 2023 World Champion: Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:54.82
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:54.06

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:52.69 *World Record*
2. Shaine Casas (USA), 1:55.13
3. Duncan Scott (GBR), 1:55.51
4. Tomoyuki Matsushita (JPN), 1:57.11
5. Hubert Kos (HUN), 1:57.22
6. Lewis Clareburt (NZL), 1:57.29
7. Wang Shun (CHN), 1:57.48
8. Carson Foster (USA), 1:57.49

World Record — Leon Marchand (FRA):

On breaking the world record: 

“I actually can’t really believe it right now. I knew I was going to get close to my PB because I felt really good today, and the preparation has been pretty good, so I was really excited to race. It’s unbelievable for me.

“What’s crazy is that it’s a whole second… and it’s still hard to believe. A 1:52 in the 200m — that’s insane. I’m so happy, it’s just incredible.

On focusing on the 200 IM, and dropping the 200 breast & 200 fly:

“It was probably the right decision. I’m grateful for my coaches and all the staff behind me. It’s been a pretty hard season for me, but I’m so happy to be here.”

On his race:

“Today, I felt really good before the race. In the water, I felt light, I was taking in a lot of water, and technically, everything felt clean. I had talked with Bob and Nico, and we agreed that tonight was the time to go for it. In the end, I went out hard from the start, but I stayed super relaxed. I kept taking in a lot of water, my underwaters were really hitting 15 metres every time, and I didn’t make many mistakes. I didn’t realise I was going that fast, but I gave it absolutely everything. Arms at full speed all the way to the wall. At that point, I wasn’t even thinking about technique anymore.

“And the 100 has become my strength, which is wild, because it used to be my weak point. Over the last 50, I still had people to chase. I tried to build that last lap well and went all out. It was really tough, obviously, because I was going at such a fast pace.

“Now, I want to take a moment to think about everything, to process it all… It’s just an explosion of joy. I feel like all the choices I made this year were the right ones, and I want to thank everyone who’s been supporting me. Since the Games, I’ve had this goal in mind. I didn’t expect things to come together again so quickly. Right now, I’m trying to get some good sleep — which isn’t easy — but tomorrow’s the final, and it’s going to be great.”

Nicolas Castel (head coach of FRA):

On Marchand’s record-shattering swim:

“The plan after the heats was for him to go all out for the first 150 metres, and then, at the end of the 150, decide whether to push all the way or not. What he did today was stratospheric. It’s exceptional. It was a great race — truly classic Léon. Just incredible. Right now, as we speak, he’s coming down from the adrenaline of the race. He’s in recovery mode, going through the usual protocol and anti-doping control. But yes, he’s happy with his swim. It was a great race, technically very well executed. He can be proud.”

MIXED 4X100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 3:37.43, United States – 2024
• World Junior Record: 3:44.84, United States – 2019
• Championship Record: 3:38.56, United States – 2027
• 2023 World Champion: China, 3:38.57
• 2024 Olympic Champion: United States, 3:37.43

1. Neutral Athletes B, 3:37.97
2. China, 3:39.99
3. Canada, 3:40.90
4. Netherlands, 3:40.97
5. Australia, 3:41.02
6. Italy, 3:42.19
7. Japan, 3:44.15
8. Poland, 3:44.27

GOLD – NEUTRAL ATHLETES B:

Kirill Prigoda (NAB):

On the mood in the NAB camp:

“It’s a great moment, but we are all focused for the next day, so we have many interesting events in the future. I will swim breaststroke events tomorrow, and I will try my very best.”

On competing in events in quick succession: 

“It is nothing special. It is a typical situation that after one distance, I have like a few minutes to prepare for the next distance. So I know this way. I have done this way before, and I got the medal. So, I am happy tonight.

Miron Lifintsev (NAB): 

On winning gold:

“I can say I feel nothing. Nothing. I’m just… I don’t know what to say. I’m not happy. I’m not sad. It’s the middle of the competition and the longer we go on winning, the better it will be.

“It’s huge result and I couldn’t do it in (my individual) race. Something was going wrong (for me), but right now all is going great.”

SILVER – CHINA:

Qin Haiyang (CHN):

On the race: 

“Rather than say our competitors were fast, I think it’s probably more accurate to say that we’re not in our top form. For future races, I think we’re still capable of being very competitive.

“Before the race, we were all under some pressure. We wanted to fight for it, we wanted to win, but I don’t think I have any regrets as to how tonight’s races went.”

On being old training partners with Xu Jiayu: 

“I believe in him. I know that he is someone we can rely on in crucial moments.”

Zhang Yufei (CHN):

On the race: 

“During warm-up, I had a feeling that I could maybe do better in my leg than I did in my individual event. We can’t possibly compare where we were at our peak with current performances, and make a conclusion as to whether we did well or not here. We’re all in a state of recovery.

“It’s not that our opponents were fast. It’s that we were not fast enough in each of our legs. This year’s races are important, but they’re also not the most important. I have higher expectations of my individual 100m fly.”

On the important role she played in the race: 

“I didn’t think that I would end up being the ‘big sister’! Jiayu and I are old partners too, and now we’re kind of shouldering the weight as more senior members of the team. I feel very relaxed every time I do a mixed relay, probably because it’s usually made up of more experienced, older members of the team. I feel very happy every time I do a mixed relay. I guess I helped provide some fireworks in the race today.”

BRONZE – CANADA:

Kylie Masse (CAN):

On the race:

“It’s such an unpredictable race, and you really never know until it’s over what the result is going to be. And I think just focusing on getting my job done in the first leg, and then knowing I was passing it off to incredible teammates who were fired up and ready to give it their all was all that I was really thinking about.”

On what she was thinking while watching Taylor Ruck:

“I was just trying to catch my breath still, to be honest, but trying to scream as loud as I could for Tay and smacking on the blocks and just knowing it was so close. And like I said, it literally comes down to the final touch and seventh of a hundred, I think, was the difference between third and fourth. So just trying to give Taylor (RUCK) as much energy as we could.”

Oliver Dawson (CAN):

On whether he was nervous:

“I wouldn’t say I was 100 per cent nervous. I was a little bit nervous, obviously, you always get nervous. I’ve done the work to be able to do this and I know my teammates have as well.”

Josh Liendo (CAN):

On how he is feeling and what the result means for the relays:

“Pretty good, man. It was good touching the wall, seeing fourth, and then seeing her flip third on the 50, and then bring it home, and then looking at Ollie (Oliver DAWSON) coming down the stretch. It was just a good race overall. Good memories, but I think it’s good, I think it came with a win not just for us, but for the rest of the team. I think it’s going to be a lot of momentum for the week.”

Taylor Ruck (CAN):

On her leg of the race:

“I think I definitely was feeling all the emotions of seeing my teammates go through it and the roar of the crowd and all that kind of stuff. The intensity and energy was there, so I just wanted to not go too fast and make sure (I was) executing the race. That can be kind of tempting to just expend all the energy in the first 50, so I don’t know. I still need to see the splits, but just tried to bring it home and keep my tempo up in the last 50 and pulled out. I didn’t see the Netherlands coming up so maybe that was a good thing, but I’m very happy with how we all put (that) together.”