NANTERRE, France (AP) — Hours after winning a pair of gold medals, French star swimmer Léon Marchand was back in the pool Thursday morning in front of his adoring fans.
The face of the Games so far for France, Marchand had a Michael Phelps-like performance Wednesday night. He chased down world-record holder and defending Olympic champion Kristóf Milák to win the 200-meter butterfly in 1 minute 51.21 seconds, and then claimed the 200 breaststroke about two hours later in 2:05.85.
Marchand was back for the preliminary heats of the 200 individual medley Thursday. He swam easily and recorded the third fastest time to advance.
Daiya Seto of Japan clocked 1:57.48 with Marchand third in 1:57.86.
Marchand now has three gold medals in individual events in Paris and will go for his fourth on Friday night in the final 200 individual medley.
That may complete his haul in Paris in front of adoring, chanting, flag-waving fans at the La Defense Arena. It’s unclear if he will swim any relays for France, which is not considered a medal contender in those events.
Getting the fourth gold might be the easy part. His American coach Bob Bowman — he coached Michael Phelps to 23 Olympic gold medals — knows the next phase may be more demanding for the 22-year-old.
“He’s gotta survive the success,” Bowman said after Wednesday’s two-gold haul. “He’s gotta come out of what’s next, and he has no idea.”
Bowman coached Marchand at Arizona State before moving on to coach Texas. Marchand turned pro and followed Bowman to Austin, and the coach says he’ll have to deal with a new level of attention from sponsors and fans back home.
“I know exactly what’s next,” Bowman said. “Find his way back to a pool in Austin, Texas, and go start going up and down it. That will be the challenge.”
