Léon Marchand Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Léon Marchand

• Léon Marchand is a French swimmer who holds the world record in the long course 400 metre individual medley. He broke Michael Phelps‘ world record in the 400 meters individual medley in July 2023.

• He grew up in a family of swimmers. His father, Xavier Marchand, competed in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics for France, while his mother, Céline Bonnet, took part in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. ^[7]La Dépêche

• According to Léon, at the beginning, he wasn’t very sporty or competitive, and a future career in the sport wasn’t on his mind. When he was studying in the 6th grade, he developed an interest in swimming for the first time. ^[8]La Dépêche He says,
  

  At the beginning, I just did swimming because I had to do a sport.” ^[9]The State Press

• While growing up in Toulouse, France, Léon started learning the basics of swimming at a very young age; however, when he was seven years old, he quit swimming as he found that the water was too cold. Léon says,
  

  I was like, really skinny and the pool was just awful. So, I quit swimming for two years.”

• Later, he tried to take up other sports, including rugby. Although his parents encouraged him when he decided to pursue other sports, Léon was never good at other sports as he excelled in swimming. So, at the age of nine, he returned to swimming.

• Initially, Marchand was coached by Nicolas Castel, a swimming coach for Les Dauphins du TOEC, a swimming sports club based in Toulouse, France.
  

  Léon Marchand with his trainer Nicolas Castel (right)

• In April 2019, he won a French junior champion title in the 200m butterfly held in Rennes. ^[10]La Dépêche

• In July 2019, he won two bronze medals (200m breaststroke and 400m medley) at the European Championships held in Kazan, Russia. ^[11]La Dépêche

• In August 2019, he won bronze in the 400 metre individual medley, with a French record time of 4:16.37, at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

• At the 2021 French Elite Swimming Championships in Chartres, Marchand, with a personal best and French record time of 4:09.65 in the 400 metre individual medley, qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

• At the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, he couldn’t get any medals; he was placed sixth in the 400 metre individual medley with a 4:11.16, tenth in the 4×100 metre medley relay, 14th in the 200 metre butterfly with a 1:55.68, and 18th in the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:58.30.
  

  Léon Marchand at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

• To make him a better swimmer, his parents wanted him to leave Toulouse and travel overseas. Léon decided to attend Arizona State University, where he started training under Robert “Bob” Bowman while pursuing a degree in computer science; Bowman had coached Michael Phelps. According to Léon Marchand, the first few weeks at ASU were rough as he had to learn a new language and how to take care of himself. Marchand says,
  

  In class, I had to listen a lot just to understand. Every day I was going to bed at like 5 p.m. because I was dead. But it got better. Now, I can do everything myself, which is a great thing.”

• According to Bowman, while watching Phelps in practice, he would often think he was watching something no one had ever done before, and when he started training Marchand, he got the same feeling. While training Marchand, Bowman found his dedication level almost similar to Michael Phelps’. Bowman says,
  

  They’re very different personality-wise, but the way they approach the actual racing and the training is very similar. They’re very consistent on a day-to-day basis, and at a consistently high level in training every day.”

  

  Bob Bowman (standimg right along the pool side) watching while Léon Marchand practising in the pool

  Bowman once recalled a practice when he challenged Marchand to see how fast he could swim to which Marchand asked what Phelps’ best time was, which was 4 minutes and 23 seconds. Bowman said,

  So Léon (does) 4:18, and I know nobody’s doing that. And then he swam it at a meet two weeks later, and it was like the fifth-fastest one ever. So, he’s pretty good at mentally comparing himself to Michael.”

  On being compared with Phelps, Marchand says,

  Sometimes Bob tells me that Michael would have achieved such and such a time. Obviously, I compare myself but it’s not the best thing to do. But it does motivate me. I’m curious to know things like that.” ^[12]Olympics

• In his freshman season at the North Carolina State Invite, Marchand broke the school record in the 200 fly, 200 and 400 IM, and the 800 free relay. ^[13]The State Press

• At the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships held in Atlanta, United States, Léon registered his first individual NCAA title win of his freshman year for the Arizona State Sun Devils; he won in the 200 yard individual medley. With his time of 1:37.69, Marchand set new NCAA, NCAA Championships, and US Open records. This is considered the best performance of his collegiate career. ^[14]The State Press On this achievement, Marchand said,
  

  It was pretty amazing. I didn’t know I would be that fast. I was just ready for the NCAAs and the adaptation to shock.”

  He also broke the record of five-time Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Caeleb Dressel. In an interview, while talking about breaking Caeleb’s record, Marchand said,

  Four years ago, my dad showed me videos of the NCAA finals. I was watching Dressel and saying to myself, this is incredible, his laps are crazy. Two years later he won loads of golds at Tokyo 2020. The guy was my idol, I didn’t even think about possibly beating his record. He congratulated me and was very happy his record had been beaten.” ^[15]Olympics

LÉON MARCHAND WINS THE 200 IM AT 1:37.69, THE FASTEST TIME IN NCAA HISTORY!!! pic.twitter.com/vlT0HOohwr

— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) March 24, 2022

• At the 2022 Pro Swim Series at Northside Swim Center in San Antonio, United States, Marchand won silver, setting a new French record in the 200 metre individual medley with a time of 1:56.95. ^[16]France 24

• At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary, he won gold in the 400 metre individual medley, setting a new European record and Championships record with a time of 4:04.28. ^[17]Omega Timing He also won gold in the 200 metre individual medley, becoming the third French swimmer to achieve two gold medals in individual events at a single FINA World Aquatics Championships; Laure Manaudou and Florent Manaudou had earlier achieved the feat. ^[18]L’Internaute With this, Marchand also broke his father’s record in the 200m IM.

After 24years I finally beat my dad❤️🤪#loveYouPapounia pic.twitter.com/DpSEAdBw6O

— ⚜️Léon⚜️ (@leon_marchand) June 24, 2022

• At the 2022 Spanish Summer Championships held in Sabadell, Spain, he set a new French record in the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:08.76. ^[19]Royal Spanish Swimming Federation

• In January 2023, in a dual meet against the California Golden Bears, Marchand set new NCAA and US Open records in the 400 yard individual medley with a time of 3:31.84. ^[20]Swimming World

• At the 2023 Pac-12 Conference Championships, points earned by Marchand helped Arizona State Sun Devils earn its first team Pac-12 Conference Championships title. ^[21]Arizona State Sun Devils

• In March 2023, his performances contributed to the first-ever top-five finish for the Arizona State Sun Devils men’s swim program at a men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. ^[22]Arizona State Sun Devils

• At the 2023 NCAA Championships, with a 1:36.34 in the 200 yard individual medley, he won the NCAA title for the second consecutive year.

• In April 2023, he won the 400 metre individual medley with a 4:07.80, the 200 metre butterfly with a 1:55.58, the 200 metre breaststroke with a 2:10.52, and the 200 metre individual medley with a 1:55.69 at the TYR Pro Swim Series. ^[23]Omega Timing

• At the 2023 French Elite Swimming Championships held in Rennes, he won the gold medal in the 200 metre breaststroke. ^[24]France Televisions

• At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan, he won in the men’s 400m individual medley (IM) with a record of 4:02.50, breaking Michael Phelps‘ last-standing individual world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by 1.34 seconds. At the victory ceremony, Michael Phelps presented Marchand with the gold medal. On this achievement, Marchand said,
  

  That was insane, one of the most painful things I’ve done. It was amazing to do it here and the time is crazy. It’s excellent, I train everyay for that. I’m two seconds faster than my previous record, I beat the world record, it’s amazing… I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy.” ^[25]CNN

  

  Michael Phelps presented Marchand with the gold medal at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan

• Léon doesn’t mind getting himself compared with the other top swimmers who are taller and more muscular than him. He says,
  

  I’m trying to show how you can work with your own body. You don’t have to be very big or very tall to swim fast or do your own thing. I just want to show that when you’re different you can (succeed).”

• He loves flying airplanes and wants to get his private pilot’s license so that he can fly over the Grand Canyon. According to Marchand, he started getting a pilot’s license in France, and when he moved to the United States, he kept on pursuing to get the same. In an interview, Marchand talked about this and said,
  

  I’m trying to finish my pilot’s license. I started in France but I didn’t have time to do it. I told myself that I was going to finish it in the US. I would like to have my private pilot’s license. In addition to Arizona, c “is great because you can go see the Grand Canyon, it’s an hour by plane. So it’s really the dream!” ^[26]Teller Report