Leon Marchand Swims World-Leading 4:10.38 400 IM, But Gets DQ’d for Lochte Rule

2022 TYR PRO SWIM SERIES SAN ANTONIO

UPDATE: The DQ was overturned on Friday morning. Read more here. Original reporting is below.

Men’s 400 IM

  • World Record: Michael Phelps (USA, 2008): 4:03.84
  • American Record: Michael Phelps (USA, 2008): 4:03.84
  • US Open Record: Michael Phelps (USA, 2008): 4:05.25
  • Junior World Record: Ilia Borodin (RUS, 2021): 4:11.17
  • Pro Swim Record: Chase Kalisz (USA, 2018): 4:08.92

Top 8:

  1. Jay Litherland (DYNA-GA) – 4:19.63
  2. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero (UN-13-FL) – 4:21.79
  3. Hector Ruvalcaba Cruz (AGS-GU) – 4:23.29
  4. David Schlicht (SUN-AZ) – 4:23.59
  5. Charlie Swanson (NOVA-VA) – 4:25.32
  6. Mikey Calvillo (IU-IN) – 4:25.54
  7. Matheo Mateos (AZFL-FG) – 4:27.97
  8. Leon Marchand (UN-AZ) – DQ

Coming off an incredible freshman season at ASU, French Olympian Leon Marchand swam a 4:10.38 in tonight’s final of the 400 IM, however, he was disqualified. The time would have been the fastest in the world, coming in well under the current top mark of 2022: Tomoru Honda‘s 4:10.75 from earlier this month.

MEN’S 400 IM – TOP 5 TIMES OF 2022

RANK TIME SWIMMER MEET DATE
1 4:10.75 Tomoru Honda (JPN) Japan Selection Trial for 19th FINA World Championships 3/2/22
2 4:10.82 Daiya Seto (JPN) Japan Selection Trial for 19th FINA World Championships 3/2/22
3 4:11.75 Kaito Tabuchi (JPN) Japan Selection Trial for 19th FINA World Championships 3/2/22
4 4:12.19 Yuki Ikari (JPN) Japan Selection Trial for 19th FINA World Championships 3/2/22
5 4:14.38 Genki Terakado (JPN) Japan Selection Trial for 19th FINA World Championships 3/2/22

Marchand was DQ’d on the controversial “Lochte Rule”. If you need a refresher, the ‘Lochte Rule’ is an unpopular rule FINA put in place for IM races, named after Ryan Lochte. The rule states that underwater dolphin kicks performed on the back are classified as backstroke, meaning that kicking underwater on the back during the freestyle portion of an IM is illegal. Per FINA rules, exactly 1/4 of an IM race must be done in each stroke, therefore “swimming backstroke” by doing underwater kicks on the back results in disqualification.

FINA has taken steps to soften the rule after it received a largely negative response from the swimming community, however, it’s clearly still resulting in disqualifications.

Nonetheless, Marchand’s time of 4:10.38 lands very close to his personal best of 4:09.65, which he swam last summer. He was excellent on the back half of the race tonight, splitting 1:09.30 on breaststroke and 58.69 on freestyle, even though he was “swimming backstroke” for a portion of the free leg.

This has significant potential impacts on France’s World Championship team as well. Marchand was one of a few French swimmers who were given an “exception meet” to qualify because of their NCAA schedules in San Antonio.

Marchand is qualified for France’s World Champs team, for now, but could be bumped.

The criteria have a pecking order of meets, with swimmers needing to get under a certain time standard, in this case 4:17.48, at a designated event.

Performance at the Tokyo Olympics are third in that selection order. National Championship meets from next week and December, in that order, take precedence, however, which means that if another French swimmer hits the qualifying time next week at French Nationals, even if Marchand’s swim from Tokyo is faster, Marchand will lose his spot.

One swimmer is already ahead of Marchand in that selection: Emilien Mattenet, who swam 4:15.69 at December’s National Championships.

The most likely candidate is 19-year old Tom Remy, who swam 4:20.96 in the 400 IM last summer.

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David Balnaves
2 years ago

Freestyle is exactly that “FREE ( meaning any ), STYLE. You can swim doing ballet legs if you want. You can swim dog paddle if that’s your stroke.

Tea rex
2 years ago

Fina – we ruin EVERYTHING!

RCP
2 years ago

The Lochte Rule makes no sense since the term “freestyle” means a swimmer is free to swim any stroke he/she wishes. Therefore, if he/she integrates some backstroke (or breaststroke, butterfly or dog paddle, for that matter) into his/her freestyle leg of an IM, it shouldn’t matter. Not to mention that butterfly kicks are now routinely used in every event that involves a turn. Why should that be legitimate if the Lochte Rule holds? The double standard needs to end.

Ga swimmer
Reply to  RCP
2 years ago

Grey Area…

Unknown Swammer
Reply to  RCP
2 years ago

But the rule say you have to swim butterfly/back/breast/freestyle – it says buttefly/back/breast and some other stroke – meaning you can’t repeat. You’re free to swim as you like as long as you’re not repeating a prior stroke.

nobdoy
Reply to  Unknown Swammer
2 years ago

dolphinning on the back is a different stroke than the inverted crawl back stroke. Some dolphin kicking is allowed in back stroke; it is not the same stroke.

Ol' Longhorn
2 years ago

The guy who can out-Kalisz Kalisz on the back half. If Kailisz get back to his prime, the races are going to be great. He’ll lose, but it’ll be interesting.

Bobo Gigi
2 years ago

Not a big deal. He will learn from that.
I predict he wins the gold at worlds in 4.07 low.
He has the big advantage of not needing a taper in late April to qualify for worlds. He will be in full long course training while his US rivals will have to compete at world trials.

McKeown-Hodges-McKeon-Campbell
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
2 years ago

please tell us more about the french qualification criteria

CATZ
Reply to  McKeown-Hodges-McKeon-Campbell
2 years ago

he needs to swim less than 4’17″48 and 1’59″76 at 200IM
https://ffn.extranat.fr/webffn/index.php?idact=nat

RCP
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
2 years ago

No big deal? The guy loses out on some prize money, doesn’t he.

Ragnar
2 years ago

Serious question, does the 1/4 rule mean you can swim the IM in any order as long as it starts on with breaststroke? I’ll have to look up the rule book but honestly didn’t realize it said that. And yeah since “freestyle” is “freestroke”, you oughta be able to corkscrew yourself if you want to. Dumb rule

jamesjabc
Reply to  Ragnar
2 years ago

Butterfly is the first stroke, not breast. But yes, the rules do say that it must be swum in the order of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

John Poole
Reply to  jamesjabc
2 years ago

For a more circus feel that TV broadcast wants a competitor should be able to mix it up. It would be damned hard to say who was “ahead” if everyone was doing a different order. Freestyle used to be called Australian crawl. What about sidestroke. I agree. Freestyle means you use whatever you prefer.

iLikePsych
Reply to  Ragnar
2 years ago

You can do corkscrew on the freestyle leg if you want. You just can’t repeat one of the previous strokes, which is why swimming ‘backstroke’ aka kicking on your back would DQ you under the Lochte rule

Admin
Reply to  iLikePsych
2 years ago

But…backstroke is defined as anything swum on your back, and so wouldn’t corkscrew be considered backstroke?

Mediocre Swammer
Reply to  iLikePsych
2 years ago

Since kicking on your back is considered backstroke, wouldn’t corkscrew be considered half backstroke/half freestyle? After all, half of the strokes are “backstroke strokes.”

(I am not saying that’s the way it SHOULD be, just that it seems to be how they would carry it out to their “logical” conclusion.)

Someone needs to try it and find out.

USA Swimming Official
Reply to  Mediocre Swammer
2 years ago

A corkscrew, because it involves a rotation of the shoulders past vertical toward the back, would be considered backstroke during the freestyle leg of the individual medley and would subject the swimmer to disqualification.

ddd
2 years ago

I’m really looking forward to the summer world championship. I can’t predict the winner. Seto? Honda? Marcian? Forster? Carish?

Last edited 2 years ago by ddd
Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  ddd
2 years ago

Foster cannot deliver when it counts.

swimfast
2 years ago

I remember how the Lochte Rule robbed Eastin of her first long course WC roster spot and was never a fan of the rule ever since.

Bruh
Reply to  swimfast
2 years ago

I know right I hate officials doing their job!!

anonymous
Reply to  swimfast
2 years ago

How about all of the breastroke DQ’s for non simultaneous touch. Rules have consequences-a DQ

Mediocre Swammer
Reply to  anonymous
2 years ago

But some rules are stupid and others aren’t. This one is stupid.