Leon Marchand After 200 IM Gold “I Am Really Proud When I Am Compared With Michael Phelps”

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

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Leon Marchand swam to his 4th gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics winning the men’s 200 IM in a 1:54.06. He also passed Michael Phelps as he now sits as the #2 performer all-time, breaking Phelps’ Olympic Record from 2008 as well.

“I am really proud when I am compared with Michael Phelps – he changed the sport forever,” Marchand said of the comparison he receives to Phelps.

Duncan Scott of Great Britain earned silver in the 200 IM after also earning silver in the event in Tokyo. “He (Leon) is unbelievable,” Scott said. “It is a real honor to be able to race against him in this environment. The crowd is nuts, and it’s sensational to be a part of it.”

Also winning gold tonight was Australia’s Cam McEvoy who captured his 1st individual Olympic gold now swimming in his 4th Olympics. “It has been a very long road but an exciting one. It was a huge act of creation and a risk, doing a different approach, but obviously it paid off, and it was an incredible journey.”

Great Britain’s Ben Proud had barely missed the podium at the last two Olympics, finishing 4th in Rio and 5th in Tokyo. Tonight, he captured silver. “Three years ago is when I burst into tears,” Proud said. “I couldn’t take the fact that I had kind of failed in my race back in Tokyo. But that was probably the most fitting thing I went through, because If I hadn’t gone through that, I wouldn’t have experienced these past three years, which has had the highest of highs and lowest of lows.”

France’s Florent Manaudou also has plenty of experience in the men’s 50 free, winning bronze to make it four straight Olympics where he has medaled in the event. The 33 year old said, “When you are more than 30 years old, you cannot work the same way; we have to work smarter, not longer.”

Winning the women’s 200 backstroke was Kaylee McKeown of Australia. McKeown made history with her swim, becoming the first woman to ever win the 100 and 200 backstrokes in back to back Olympic Games. “Seeing those girls, not just the Aussie girls – female sport has been unreal this year, and it’s great to be a part of it,” McKeown said.

After finishing behind McKeown with silver the other night in the 100 back, Regan Smith followed that swim up with silver again in the 200 back. Smith is the former World Record holder in the event as well and swam out of lane 7 in the event tonight.

“In the past I’ve really gotten lost and too concerned about what people around me are doing, rather than focusing on my own race plan,” Smith said. “I especially do that in the 200 backstroke because of my history with it, so I think it was nice to have a little bit of outside smoke and put some pressure on.”

Canada’s Kylie Masse just missed the podium in the 100 back the other night as she was 4th. She made the 200 back podium with silver in Tokyo and followed that up here with bronze.

“It means a lot. I was a little bit disappointed after my 100 backstroke,” Masse said. “It stings a bit being just off the podium. I knew tonight’s race was going to be difficult, and I knew I was going to have to fight to the very end. Those final meters were fighting, for sure. I’m really pleased to be on the podium.”