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:

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.

 

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Rttyii
19 days ago

I love this boy ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🇫🇷

WaterAce
19 days ago

Y’all trashed Meehan for wanting to leave ACCs early, y’all better keep the same energy for this. Total lack of integrity

WaterAce
19 days ago

How is this even allowed by World Aquatics or the French fed? Are there gonna be officials/media there or is it just Bob keeping track? This situation is disrespectful and total garbage. What a slap in the face to other French swimmers and their fans. So other French swimmers are gonna race against the clock instead of him? There’s no explanation of how this is gonna work. How many times are people gonna bend over backwards for the golden boy? Nobody should be bigger than the federation/team/sport

Last edited 19 days ago by WaterAce
Rocco23
Reply to  WaterAce
18 days ago

dude, chill !

WaterAce
19 days ago

How many exceptions this dude gonna get?

Rttyii
Reply to  WaterAce
19 days ago

Non è un semplice tizio è Leon Marchand!

bne
20 days ago

okay so all the respect to LM but this does make me slightly mad about the schedule change in singapore…he might not even race those 2 events and its inconveniencing so many other athletes, rip KD or TH 200 im (i do realize its not really LM’s fault)

Asher Lacy
20 days ago

In a recent World Aquatics video, Leon states that he would like to try some new events. He spoke about swimming freestyle. I personally believe Marchand will do awesome at Worlds this October. It’ll be a sight to see.

Kawaik25ean
Reply to  Asher Lacy
20 days ago

What worlds in October?

Worlds (LCM) are this summer (end of July and August).

May you speak about world cup in North America in SCM?

Asher Lacy
Reply to  Kawaik25ean
19 days ago

Yes. I mean in the SCM…*World Cup

Asher Lacy
20 days ago

TELL HIM I SAID HI

Asher Lacy
20 days ago

I love LEON MARCHAND.#1 FAN

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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