Leon Marchand Will Race for Worlds Qualification Times This Weekend in Austin

2025 Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite

• May 14-16, 2025
• Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center, Austin, Texas
• Long Course Meters (50 meters)
• Live Results

Olympic gold medalist, and the reigning world’s best male swimmer, Leon Marchand of France will race this weekend at the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite in Austin, Texas in an attempt to hit French qualifying standards for the World Championships.

While France generally employs a closed qualifying system at their national championship meet, requiring swimmers to be top 2 and hit a certain time standard, they have apparently made an exception for their Olympic hero, according to his American coach Bob Bowman.

The French National Championships will be held from June 14-19 in Montpellier.

Marchand is scheduled to race the 200 free, 400 free, 100 back, 200 breast, and 400 IM as part of a compact field in Austin. Per the French selection procedures, once chosen for the team, he can add additional events if there is room.

Note that because Marchand is only 22, the U23 standards would technically apply to him.

Marchand has only raced once since October, at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale two weeks ago. There he swam:

• 200 free – 1:48.05 (8th in finals @ 1:49.66)
• 400 free – 3:48.97 (3rd in finals)
• 200 IM – 1:57.27 (2nd in finals)
• 400 IM – 4:13.86 (2nd in finals)

Only the 200 IM time qualifies him for the World Championships, which the French federation will also accept. He framed that meet as a test of where he was at after spending many months in Australia, not necessarily in full training. He said afterward “I’m a long way from my best times of last year, but at least I know what I need to work on…”

Marchand won four individual Olympic gold medals last summer in the 200 breast, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM, as well as a bronze medal on France’s 400 medley relay.

The meet, which feels almost like an intrasquad, is almost entirely University of Texas swimmers and elite Longhorn Aquatics juniors. Other big Longhorn names scheduled to race include:

• Shaine Casas (100 free, 200 free, 100 fly, 100 back, and 200 IM),
• Jillian Cox (200 free, 400 free, 800 free),
• Carson Foster (100 back, 400 free, 200 breast, 400 IM),
• Piper Enge (100 breast, 200 breast, 100 fly, 200 free, 200 IM),
• Erin Gemmell (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, and 200 IM),
• Chris Guiliano (50 free, 100 free, and 200 free),
• Nate Germonprez (100 breast, 200 breast, 100 fly, 200 free),
• Luke Hobson (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free),
• David Johnston (400 free, 800 free, and 400 IM),
• Hubert Kos (100 back, 200 back, 200 IM, 400 IM, 100 breast, 200 fly),
• Simone Manuel (50 free, 100 free, 200 free)
• Rex Maurer (200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 200 IM, 400 IM)
• Will Modglin (100 fly, 100 back, 200 back, 100 free), and
• Baylor Nelson (200 free, 200 IM)

There will also be a crew at the meet from Wisconsin, led by 2022 World Championship silver medalist Phoebe Bacon. Bacon is entered in the 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM, and 100 free. She will be joined by a group of teammates, including Abby Carlson and Maggie Wanezek.

The rest of the field will be filled out mostly by a handful of local age group swimmers and a handful of collegiate swimmers from neighboring states.