Leon Marchand Becomes Fourth Swimmer In History To Win Four Individual Golds At Single Games

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
  • Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
• La Défense Arena — Paris, France
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Full Swimming Schedule
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Pick ’em Contest
• How To Watch
• Live Results

Leon Marchand has already entered rarefied air at the Paris Olympics, but he joined another exclusive club on Friday night in winning the men’s 200 IM.

Marchand unleashed the second-fastest swim in history, 1:54.06, to break Michael Phelps‘ Olympic Record and pass the GOAT for #2 all-time in the event behind Ryan Lochte (1:54.00).

Marchand’s victory marked his fourth individual gold medal of the Games, making him just the fourth swimmer to accomplish the feat.

The 22-year-old Frenchman joins Phelps, Mark Spitz and Kristin Otto with four individual swimming golds at a single Olympics, while he also becomes the 13th swimmer to win four golds at one Games including relays.

Phelps won four individual golds at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and then claimed five individual golds four years later in Beijing en route to his record-setting total of eight in a single Games.

Spitz won four individual golds at the 1972 Olympics in Munich on the way to his seven total golds, which was the all-time single-Games record until Phelps broke it, and Otto won four individual and six total golds at the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Otto was notably a member of the East German contingent that had widespread doping throughout the team.

SWIMMERS WITH FOUR INDIVIDUAL GOLDS AT SINGLE OLYMPICS

SWIMMERS WITH FOUR GOLDS AT SINGLE OLYMPICS

Marchand was essentially a lock to win the men’s 400 IM early in the competition, and he did so in dominant fashion by setting the Olympic Record in 4:02.95 to win by more than five and a half seconds.

His biggest tests came on Wednesday, when Marchand took on the defending Olympic champions in both the 200 fly and 200 breast. He came through in spades, upending Kristof Milak in the 200 fly and Zac Stubblety-Cook in the 200 breast, setting Olympic Records in both.

Marchand put the cherry on top on Friday, obliterating the men’s 200 IM field with a blistering breaststroke split and then a sensational final underwater to win gold by 1.25 seconds.

In Paris, the only other swimmers with multiple gold medals are Mollie O’Callaghan (3), Summer McIntosh (2), Kaylee McKeown (2), Ariarne Titmus (2), and Shayna Jack (2). Only McIntosh and McKeown have two individual golds.

Marchand has a chance to add to his medal tally in the men’s medley relay, and maybe even the mixed medley relay, later in the meet.