Stunning! Léon Marchand performs in the 25-meter pools during a tour in Asia. The Frenchman set a new world record in the 200m medley, erasing Ryan Lochte's mark by almost a second on Friday in Singapore, during the third stage of the short course World Cup.
After having won the French and European record for this distance in 1'50''30 in Shanghai in mid-October, the Frenchman improved his time by more than a second to establish a new world record in 1'48 ''88.
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A twelve year old record
In the Singapore swimming pool, the Frenchman became the first swimmer to go below the 1'49'' mark in the 200m medley, crushing the world record of the American Ryan Lochte, set in 2012 in 1'49' '63.
“It was very exciting for me, I tried to do something that had never been done before (swimming in less than 1 min 49, editor's note), so I gave everything I had in water. The crowd really pushed me, it reminded me of the Olympic Games,” Marchand said poolside.
On Thursday, the quadruple gold medalist at the Paris Olympics had already set a new European record in the 100m medley.
Expected for the short course world championships
Three months after the dream Olympics, the Toulouse native will close his Asian tour with the 400m medley on Saturday, with the ambition of winning a third hat-trick in medley, after those gleaned in Shanghai and Incheon.
His season will then continue in Budapest, for the short course world championships (25m) from December 10 to 15.
