“How do I imagine his return? As late and as discreetly as possible. And once there, the goal is to try to hide it for as long as possible, far from you [les journalistes]. » At the end of March in Indianapolis, the trophy of the American university championships (NCAA) barely raised, Bob Bowman showed a smirk at the prospect of Léon Marchand’s return to France.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Four months before the Paris 2024 Olympics, all the lights are green for “the king of swimming” Léon Marchand
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Bad news for the American coach of the French swimming star – exiled in the United States since August 2021 – and expected star of the Paris Olympic Games (OG): 112 journalists traveled to Chartres for the French championships (from June 16 to 21), a necessary step to win the Olympic sesame. A large increase in number compared to the 2023 edition.
The landing was “a little shocking”, according to the one who has just celebrated his 22nd birthday. “I haven’t been home for a long time [août 2023]I was really immersed in American life”, insisted Léon Marchand, Saturday June 15 at a press conference, two days before his entry into the running. “And it made me strange, I had the impression that everything was very small, the streets, the cars, even the supermarket: everything is small…”
Rehearsal of the program hoped for at the Olympics
His ambitions are not small, even if Eure-et-Loir is only a stop on the highway which will lead him to his first dive at La Défense Arena on July 28. “I would like to get closer to the top 3 of [meilleurs] world times in each race to be able to be well placed in Paris [dans les lignes d’eau], assures the three-time reigning world champion. There is still something at stake and I love that, it allows me to swim faster. » In the Chartres Odyssée basin, he will compete in 400 m medley (Monday June 17), 200 m medley (Friday), 200 m butterfly and 200 m breaststroke (Wednesday), the four individual events that he hopes to compete in the Olympics.
A “reasonable” schedule compared to the pace of competitions on the American university circuit. ” THE [championnats] NCAA, it was three days, three and a half days. There is more comfort there. I have time between races. » With the exception of Wednesday, where he will continue – in the morning in the heats then in the afternoon in the finals – the 200m butterfly and the 200m breaststroke at an hour interval, the same gap as at the Olympics between the series and the semi-finals of both races. “I’m going to try to listen to myself that day, to see how my body reacts, it’s a first test. »
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