The boss is back. Two and a half months after the Paris Olympics, Léon Marchand, quadruple Olympic champion, returns to competition on Friday in Asia with the short course World Cup.
The Frenchman will first take part in the Shanghai stage, from Friday to Sunday, then he will head to Incheon (South Korea, October 24-26) and Singapore (October 31-November 3), alongside other Olympic champions from Paris such as the Chinese Pan Zhanle, the Italian Thomas Ceccon or the Australian Kaylee McKeown.
His season will then continue in Budapest for the World Championships in the 25m pool from December 10 to 15, before undoubtedly a stopover in Reunion (Indian Ocean meeting, December 20-22).
A busy schedule after the Olympic madness which saw the Toulouse native become the most successful athlete at the Paris Olympics. “After all this, I’m going to take a vacation, take a real break“, he declared in the wake of his exploits. “A month and a half, I haven’t taken this in five-six years. I’m going to leave, I’m going to travel”
After a few weeks of rest, between the Greek islands, Ibiza, Paris and Toulouse, it is in Shanghai that the 22-year-old swimmer begins his first post-Olympic season. On its program, some races which are part of its specialties, and others “more for fun“, told AFP his coach Nicolas Castel, who supervised his return to training.
“He recovered quite well, at least physically, he was fine. In his head, it might be a little difficult to dive back in and work at the same height as what he put in for the Games“. “This is why for this start of the season until January, he is really in a transition phase“, he emphasizes.
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Julien Issoulié, DTN of blue swimming, confirms: “There is no big issue in terms of results, there is no big pressure. He goes there to compete, do a series of races and take his bearings“The Frenchman should still swim fast, short course races, with twice as many turns, allowing him to showcase his extraordinary underwater qualities even more, he explains.
This end of the year should therefore allow the new phenomenon of French sport to gradually get back into the rhythm of the 2024-2025 season, which should culminate with the Long Course World Championships in July in Singapore. “He will be keen to defend his titles“, says Castel.
“Conductor”
For this, the Frenchman, who now benefits from professional status after two seasons playing in the American university championship, will however have to face some changes in his daily life. “The NCAA, he felt like he had gone around a bitexplains Nicolas Castel. Since 2021 he has been performing well, perhaps he needed to move to another scheme“.
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Gone are the countless university competitions and now it’s time for the professional circuit with meetings facing international competition. “It’s a whole different pace but he’ll get used to it“, assures Julien Issoulié.
For his trainer, “cis another form of swimming“. “This will make him more of a conductor of his project. He will be more on the professional circuit with bigger prize money too“, he continues. In the midst of all this, Marchand will continue his studies in computer science. “He will also continue his studies and take his exams. He will have to relieve himself of some demands and concentrate on his school project. He is aware that it is important for him to keep his balance, to continue to be interested in things“.
