Léon Marchand leaves to train in Australia in 2025, to “breathe”

The four-time Olympic champion announced it upon his arrival in Reunion where he is taking part in a swimming meet: he is going to train for a few months in Australia.

He skipped the short course world championships last week in Budapest. Léon Marchand favored the Indian Ocean meeting, a traditional end-of-year competition which takes place on Reunion Island and takes place from December 20 to 22. Upon his arrival, the star of the last Olympic Games in Paris officially confirmed his departure for Australia during “ two or three months » from the start of next year, near Brisbane. “I’m going to try to see another culture, to train with another coach,”explained Thursday December 19 at the microphone of Réunion la 1ère, the quadruple Olympic champion since this summer (200m and 400m medley, 200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly). “And only then will I join my trainer Bob Bowman in Austin.”

As he explained a few weeks ago, Léon Marchand had to move to Texas after the holidays to join his new training location. Its installation in the United States is postponed for a few months. “I needed to breathe, to see something else”,did he justify himself. “We talked about it with Bob and he thinks it’s good to see another way of training. It’s the right time, I have four years to prepare for the next Games in Los Angeles. I I’ll be able to surf, I’ll be able to enjoy Australia, it’ll change me a little.”

To explain his absence from the world championships in Hungary, Léon Marchand mentioned his “fatigue” after his successful summer and the World Cup he won in Asia in October. His departure for Australia will be useful to him for “recharge your batteries” and try new things, as he has often hinted in recent weeks. “I’m going to try to change strokes, disciplines”, develops the Toulouse resident. “I’m going to do a little more crawling but also travel a little more, meet more people from different cultures.” An already busy schedule for Léon Marchand.