After his victories in the medley, Léon Marchand ended his week in Singapore with a very good second place in the 200 meter freestyle, behind Duncan Scott but ahead of Pan Zhanle.
Have a great day at work for Léon Marchand! An hour after his new victory in the 400 meter medley, the Frenchman ended his week in Singapore with a very good second place in the 200 meter freestyle final.
While he had not swum this distance in short course competition since 2019, Léon Marchand logically exploded his personal best. He had already beaten him in the heats (1'43″09), and he did much better in the final (1'40″91), finishing not so far from the French record established by Yannick Agnel in 2012 ( 1'39″70).
Léon Marchand expands his register
This very good weather allowed Léon Marchand to achieve an equally good second place, ahead of for example the Chinese phenomenon Pan Zhanle (the Olympic champion and world record holder in the 100 meter freestyle). Only Duncan Scott, who became the fourth man to swim in less than 1'40 over the distance, was ahead of the Frenchman.
This is promising for the future, and it gives even more relief to Léon Marchand's results in this short course World Cup. He was expected to dominate the medley events, and he did so unchallenged (nine wins in nine finals), adding this impressive world record in the 200 meter medley. With this performance in the 200 meter freestyle, the hero of the Paris Olympics shows that he can further extend his range. Looking forward to the short course Worlds in December…
