Emmanuel Macron did everything possible to have Kylian Mbappé in Paris. The Games are his heroes, his characters, they are Jesse Owens, Mark Spitz, Nadia Comaneci, Carl Lewis, or Michael Phelps... Paris needs its own. France does too. Therefore, after Florentino Pérez's refusal, the President of the Republic did not hesitate to call Léon Marchand after his victory in the 400m medley. When he answered the phone they handed him after leaving the pool, he couldn't believe it. He is the Mbappé of the water, a lion in a child's body.
Two days later, Marchand dove back into the pool at La Défense as if he were hearing La Marseillaise: Allons enfant de la patrie... The anthem plays, the 17,000 spectators chant along while waving flags, as the race begins, they cheer with each stroke, in an atmosphere uncommon in the Games and in swimming. Marchand is a prodigy, a champion, but he is also homeland, he is chauvinism.
The next challenge he must complete today is to swim the finals of the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke, with a two-hour and five-minute difference. To qualify, yesterday he dove into the pool four times. Contemplative in the morning heats, he dominated his semifinals with authority, with 1:53.50 in the butterfly, where the Spanish Arbidel González finished eighth, and 2:08.11 in the breaststroke. However, in the butterfly, he was outpaced by Kristof Milak (1:52.72). A tremendous duel awaits him today.
Swimmers usually do not combine butterfly and breaststroke, except in medley events. It is more common for butterfly swimmers to also compete in freestyle events. Marchand's long, 1.87m, 76kg physique allows him greater adaptability, with a key underwater technique, as demonstrated in the 400m medley final, which he won solo with record-breaking splits. He holds the world record (4:02.50) since taking it from Phelps. The first Olympic title adds to the five world golds he has won at the age of 22, two in Budapest 2022 and three in Fukuoka 2023, always in the two medley events and the butterfly. In Paris, he adds the breaststroke.
The upbringing of the champion from Toulouse began early when his father and uncle suggested, at the age of six, that he race against other children in a restaurant pool. It could have been even earlier, as Marchand is the son and nephew of elite swimmers. Céline Bonnet, his mother, was an Olympian in Barcelona '92. Xavier Marchand, the father, was an Olympic finalist in 1996 and 2000, and world runner-up in the same events his son swims, the 200m and 400m medley, in 1998. Xavier's brother, Christophe, and the swimmer's uncle, also participated in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics. They dedicated their lives to swimming, although without great financial gain, so they were initially reluctant for their son to follow in their footsteps. There is little one can do against passion and genetics.
After that race that amazed his father and uncle, he never stopped. He obtained his first license at six, affiliated with the same club his father had defended, TOEC Toulouse, where the first French Olympic swimming champion, Jean Bolteux, from Helsinki '52, came from. Swimming is a hallmark of the city, which boasts Europe's longest pool at 150 meters. In its waters, Fabien Barthez began before football claimed him to defend the goal of the 1998 World Cup champions.
At 16, Marchand becomes the youngest absolute champion in France, in the 200m butterfly, and the ascent is unstoppable. Despite their initial reservations, the parents know that the leap to the United States will come sooner or later, a necessary step for his progression, with the condition, however, that he does not abandon his computer studies. It happens in 2021 when Marchand entrusts himself to Bob Bowman, coach and Phelps' Pygmalion. His talent enters a new dimension. In Tokyo, that same year, he confirms what everyone suspects. At 19, he achieves an interesting sixth place in the 400m medley.
"Normal People Things"
Marchand begins to face the American elite in collegiate competitions, but the pandemic forces him to stop and return to Toulouse. Instead of being a setback, the swimmer has remembered that period as something positive: "It was very good for me to return to doing normal people things, like sleeping in or playing video games with my brother." During the season, he wakes up at five-thirty in the morning, six days a week, to complete training sessions covering between five and seven kilometers.
Paris observes the result of that work, with Bowman always close by, in addition to the coaches of the French Swimming Federation, who have apartments near the Défense Arena for their swimmers to rest better on the days leading up to the competitions. This is why the officials conducting a surprise check did not find Marchand at the Olympic Village, where they went early Monday morning. The federation staff confirmed that the notification had been received, and the controllers admitted the mistake. A setback that could have complicated his 'day of glory'.