Леон Маршан определился с новой специализацией: французский пловец нацелился на спринтерские дистанции вольным стилем на Олимпиаде в Лос-Анджелесе

Going into the European Championships, dealing with a re-aggravated hip adductor injury that kept Leon Marchand out of several signature events, his focus shifted to a more freestyle- and butterfly-dominated event lineup in Paris. However, that proved to be an eye-opening experience for both Marchand and fans alike. Marchand was electric, winning both the 400 free and 200 fly events in Paris, including a blistering 3:43.14 in the 400 free, the fastest time in the field by nearly a second and a half. Though maybe his most jaw-dropping performance came in the 4×200 freestyle relay, as he led off for the French contingent in 1:43.76, which makes him the 7th-fastest performer in the history of the event. Though we have seen flashes of Marchand’s freestyle ability in the past, as we draw closer to the Los Angeles Olympics, Marchand has shared that racing the 200 and 400 freestyles is definitely something he wants to do. In a report from BFMRMC Sport, Marchand explained in April that he does not feel the need to repeat his four-gold performance at the Paris Olympics in 2024, which saw him win the 200 and 400 IMs, as well as the 200 fly and 200 breast. “I have absolutely no desire to repeat myself,” Marchand said at the time. “It’s done, so that chapter is closed. It was a different way of training and preparing. It wouldn’t give me any pleasure to put myself on the same program trying to do the same things; that’s not how I progress in my career and in everyday life.” His performance at the European Championships has been somewhat of a revelation for the French phenom, as he feels these new freestyle races may be his new “thing”. “I think I’ve found my thing! I really want to continue this momentum in the freestyle.” Marchand said. “I’ve worked hard these last two years on my technique, on power, on my arms, on the way I do my kick too. And this is a bit of a reward for what I’ve been doing for two years.” Marchand adds that while his times in those freestyle races may not be the best in the world today, it’s the idea of competition and challenge that keeps him moving forward. He also touches on the potential of racing those events at the Los Angeles Olympics. “I want to do that for Los Angeles, why not… The 200 freestyle, why not, the 400 freestyle… I’ll see how it goes, how I’m already treating my adductor and how I see the breaststroke in the coming months.”