The coach of Léon Marchand, five-time medalist at the 2024 Olympics, rejected accusations of doping targeting the French swimmer, who is preparing to make his return to the pools.
He was the star of the 2024 Olympics. Léon Marchand (22 years old) splashed his talent at the Olympic Games in Paris with four gold medals (200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly, 200m medley, 400m medley) and a medal of bronze (4x100m medley relay). Exceptional performances which went around the world, arousing admiration, while fueling suspicions of doping.
They were reinforced by the absence of the French swimmer from the Olympic village when inspectors from the anti-doping authorities arrived to test him. While he had been authorized to benefit from accommodation outside the Olympic village, he had been careful, indicating his location on the authorities’ software.
But his coach at the Dauphins du TOEC club firmly rejected the accusations against his protégé. “Doubt is human. What I find unfortunate is the way it was done. It’s through social media and it’s always the same people who question performances. We learned to distance ourselves from these unfounded comments. I know Léon well, his intrinsic qualities, and I have no doubt about his integrity. Very few people know what he endures to reach this level,” Nicolas Castel told Ouest-France.
A little more than two months after his exploits in the capital, Léon Marchand is preparing to make his comeback in the pools, starting this Friday, during the 1st stage of the Short Course Swimming World Cup in Shanghai . And he will once again try to demonstrate the full extent of his talent, since he will be entered in five races being at the start of the 200m breaststroke, 200m medley, 400m medley, three distances over which he was crowned at the Games, but also the 100m medley and especially the 100m freestyle.
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