2023 PRO SWIM SERIES – WESTMONT
- April 12-15, 2023
- FMC Aquatic Center, Westmont, Illinois
- Long Course Meters (50 meters)
- Event Central
- Pre-Scratch timeline
- Psych Sheets
- Live Stream
- Live Results
- Day 1 Finals Live Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
MEN’S 400 IM – FINALS
- World Record: 4:03.84 – Michael Phelps (2008)
- American Record: 4:03.84 – Michael Phelps (2008)
Pro Swim Series Record: 4:08.92 – Chase Kalisz (2018)- US Open Record: 4:05.25 – Michael Phelps (2008)
Top 8:
- Leon Marchand (UN) — 4:07.80 (Pro Swim Series Record)
- Carson Foster (UN) — 4:09.69
- Chase Kalisz (SUN) — 4:13.06
- Hubert Kos (UN) — 4:14.08
- Cedric Bussing (GER) — 4:18.08
- Bobby Finke (SPA) — 4:20.99
- Brandonn Almeida (BRA) — 4:21.64
- Tommy Bried (CARD) — 4:27.25
March may be over, but Marchand Madness never stops.
Leon Marchand got his weekend at the 2023 Westmont Pro Swim Series started by erasing another record. He broke Pro Swim Series record in the 400 IM in his first finals session of the meet. His winning time of 4:07.80 erased the mark of 4:08.92 that Chase Kalisz swam in 2018.
He also takes over the world rankings as number one in the world this year.
2022-2023 LCM Men 400 IM
Marchand
4:02.50 WR
| 2 | Daiya Seto | JPN | 4:07.92 | 04/04 |
| 3 | Carson Foster | USA | 4:06.56 | 07/23 |
| 4 | Chase Kalisz | USA | 4:08.22 | 06/29 |
| 5 | Ilya Borodin | RUS | 4:09.12 | 04/20 |
After his electrifying NCAA meet where he obliterated his own NCAA record and became the first swimmer to break 3:30 in the yards version of this event, all eyes were on Marchand here in his first long-course meet of the season.
Here in the 50-meter pool, Marchand took a different approach from his yards strategy of go out fast and suffer later. He let Carson Foster take control of the race at the start, hanging just behind Sun Devil teammate Hubert Kos in third. Foster was about a second ahead of Marchand through the first half of the race. The breaststroke leg was where the Frenchman made his move; he took over the lead on the first 50 and split 1:08.53 compared to Foster’s 1:11.48.
Split Comparison: Marchand 2023 vs. Kalisz 2018
| Marchand – New Pro Swim Series Record | Kalisz – Previous Pro Swim Series Record | |
| Fly | 56.46 | 56.72 |
| Back | 1:03.46 | 1:04.25 |
| Breast | 1:08.53 | 1:09.57 |
| Free | 59.35 | 58.38 |
| Total | 4:07.80 | 4:08.92 |
As you can see from the splits, while Marchand waited until the back half of the race to assert himself, he was actually under record pace the entire swim. The only leg of the race where Kalisz out-splits him is the freestyle, where Kalisz was about a second faster. However, by that point Marchand had built enough of a lead over the record’s pace to still easily break the record.
Kalisz was in the field in Westmont, and finished third in 4:13.06. He also made his move on the breaststroke leg, overtaking Kos for a spot in the top three. Interestingly, this is the exact podium from this event at 2022 Worlds.
Marchand also went to the first Pro Swim Series after NCAAs last year, which was held in San Antonio. There, he swam 4:10.38 in the 400 IM, which was also a world-leading time when he clocked it.
I think that was a very solid swim for him and Foster. I suspect he wanted to be 4:06 or even 4:05, but if Marchand dropped the same 6.10 seconds in Fukuoka that he did last summer (4:10.38 to 4:04.28), that would put him at 4:01.70.
Leon Marchand isn’t the next Michael Phelps, he is the next Leon Marchand
Outside of “music was better in my day” this is the most boringly cliched phrase you can use to show you’ve never had an original thought in your life
He clearly swam beyond the 15m mark. We were there & everyone around us saw it too.
I watched the race and it’s hard to say with the angle of underwater cameras. I suppose you talk about the start in butterfly. Effectively, he seems to be very close of the15m mark when he came out of the water. But in this case why judges didn’t DQ him? Why they’d grant him a favor? (I precise that I’m a great fan of Léon)
Yep, 100% – beyond the mark. I still don’t understand how this call is missed so often at high-level meets. Kind of makes me want to stand behind the official next time and comment loudly on what’s happening.
I don’t think under water footage is sufficient in this case, and unfortunately it only shows that breakout under water: https://www.youtube.com/live/mZod2pGFWYQ?feature=share&t=5342
Chase was never in the race with Leon or Carson! Training with Leon and Seto hasn’t been a positive?
Wow