To the joy of a euphoric French crowd, Léon Marchand won his fourth gold medal and set his fourth Olympic record of these games on Friday in the 200-meter individual medley.
With every move made by their new national hero, Michael Phelps of the United States, who set the previous Olympic record in Beijing with a time of 1:54.23, fans at Paris La Défense Arena erupted in cheers.
“Léon, Léon, Léon” was screamed by the crowd as he approached the medal podium and proceeded to perform a passionate performance of “La Marseillaise.”
For the French who are hosting these Olympics, Marchand is everything.
And for good reason—on Sunday, the 22-year-old Arizona State graduate won the 400 IM and went on to win the 200 butterfly and breast on Wednesday. These victories have all come in Olympic records time.
In the 4×100 mixed medley relay on Saturday, he might take home another medal, but three teammates would have a greater say in his future than just him.
Wang Shun of China earned bronze and Duncan Scott of Great Britain grabbed silver, with Wang Shun just missing out on a podium berth over Carson Foster in fourth place.
Kaylee McKeown of Australia won gold in the 200 backstroke in an Olympic record time earlier in the evening, defeating American competitor Regan Smith, who took home her third silver medal.
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McKeown won the gold medal in the 100 backstroke earlier in the event, bringing his total medal count to six. She touched the wall in 2:03.73, half a second faster than Smith’s time of 2:04.26. McKeown surpassed American Missy Franklin’s previous Olympic record, which she had established in London in 2:04.06.
Australia’s Cameron McEvoy won the 50-yard freestyle, the opening medal event on Friday night. It was anticipated that McEvoy would compete against American and reigning Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel.
However, Dressel finished sixth and somehow missed the podium.36 lag time behind McEvoy. As Benjamin Proud of Great Britain won the silver medal and Florent Manaudou took third place in the race, the French fans erupted in cheers.
