LIVEBARN Race of the Week: Marchand Erases Phelps’ Last World Record in 400 IM (4:02.50)

Leon Marchand erased Michael Phelps‘ last individual world record from the books with his 400 IM victory in 4:02.50 on Sunday, sending waves throughout the sport world — including a SportsCenter Top 10 shoutout.

The 21-year-old Frenchman dropped over a second off Phelps’ former record of 4:03.84 from the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Phelps first set the world record back in 2002 (4:11.09), having held the mark for a total of 20 years and 342 days. Fittingly, Phelps was in attendance for Marchand’s record-breaking performance in Fukuoka and awarded him his gold medal after the win.

According to one analysis of Marchand’s race, his speed on the surface was relatively similar to his previous-best 4:04.28 from last year’s world title, but he improved by more than seconds on his underwaters alone.

Splits Comparison:

Watch SwimSwam’s reaction video of Leon’s race here:

This is your LIVEBARN Race of the Week because even though many have seen this coming for a year, watching Marchand take down a record that was considered untouchable a few years ago — with Phelps in attendance for commentary and support — more than lived up to the hype.

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