Leon Marchand Sweeps Breaststroke Events At 35th Indian Ocean Swim Meet (Race Video)

35th Indian Ocean Swim Meet

• December 20-22, 2024
• Saint-Denis, Réunion Island
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Results

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Leon Marchand swept the men’s breaststroke events at the long-course meters 35th Indian Ocean swim meet this weekend. The competition was held in Saint-Denis on Réunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, about a week after the end of the 2024 Short Course World Championships, which Marchand was originally slated to attend before he pulled out, citing exhaustion from a busy year in and out of the pool. 

Marchand set the swimming world abuzz when he announced during his press conference ahead of the competition that he was heading to Australia in January to train with Dean Boxall for a few months at the Brisbane-based St. Peters Western club.

He raced all three breaststroke events at the meet and came away with three wins, finishing ahead of Saint-Raphael Swimming’s Sebastien Capogna each time. Capogna finished seventh at the European Junior championships in the 200 breaststroke in July and qualified for semifinals in the 100 breast.

The 200 breaststroke was Marchand’s first race of the meet. He swam a 2:13.17 in prelims, earning lane four for the evening’s final. He was the fastest swimmer in the heats by 6.53 seconds, and though that gap narrowed considerably in the final, his 2:10.78 won him the race by 1.87 seconds. Marchand split 1:02.70 on the opening 100 meters, then swam 1:08.08 on the back-half.

200 Breaststroke Final Race Video

Courtesy: IMAZ Press Réunion

He broke the 50 breaststroke meet record three times the next day, lowering the mark in prelims, semifinals, and finals. His first swim of the day was a 28.63, which he shaved three-tenths from with a 28.31 in the semifinal. He saved his best for last, breaking 28 seconds with a 27.86 to win.

Marchand does not often race the 50 breaststroke. His lifetime best coming into this meet stands at 27.79, which he swam on the first 50 meters of his 100 breaststroke at the CA Nova Speedo Grand Challenge in May 2024, which was one of his last meets before the Paris Olympics. Per SwimRankings, the last time he raced the individual 50 breaststroke was at this meet in 2019, before he broke on to the international scene or qualified for his first Olympic Games. There, he clocked 28.74.

50 Breaststroke Final Race Video

Courtesy: IMAZ Press Réunion

Marchand’s final event was the 100 breaststroke. He got a surprise in prelims, as it was Capogna who had the fastest qualifying time out of the heats, swimming a 1:01.75 while Marchand qualified second in 1:03.81. Marchand turned it up a notch in the final, nearing the 1:00 barrier by swimming 1:00.07 for the win in a meet record. He won by over a second, as Capogna swam 1:01.15 for another silver medal.

This swim was the second-fastest of Marchand’s career. He’s only broken the 1:00 barrier once in his career–at the CA NOVA Speedo Grand Challenge–when he posted a 59.06. The 100 breaststroke, like the 50, is not one of Marchand’s primary events, though he does often race breaststroke on France’s 4×100 medley relay, as he did in Paris as the home nation ended capped the competition with bronze and a national record (3:28.38). Marchand split 58.62 on that relay.

100 Breaststroke Final Race Video

Courtesy: IMAZ Press Réunion

While it may seem like Marchand made a stop at this meet on his way to Australia, he shared in one of his post-race interviews that he’s spending a week on vacation in the islands, then heading back home to Toulouse for a few days. From there, he’ll head to Brisbane in early January.