Swimming World Championships: "shocked", "crazy", "really proud"... the French team buoyed by Léon Marchand's world record

1'52''69, like so many golden numbers that will remain engraved forever. At least until the moment Léon Marchand chooses to compose a new masterful symphony in the 200m medley. By smashing the world record that had belonged to the American Ryan Lochte for 14 years by more than a second, the French swimmer wrote a new page in his legend after his quadruple gold at the Paris 2024 Games. A page that did not go unnoticed by his little comrades on the French team...

So, this Thursday morning, another medalist from Singapore, Yohann Ndoye-Brouard – bronze in the 100m backstroke on Tuesday – did not hide his admiration after having validated his ticket for the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke which will be held at the end of the day. "I think I experienced Léon's record like everyone else, in shock. I didn't know if he was going to swim to the end. Everyone had their opinion on it, some thought he was going to ease off at the end to save himself for the final. But when I saw that he did 32"0 in breaststroke, I said to myself: Oh yeah, that's crazy!" Before adding, with humor: "Honestly, it was impressive. Luckily I watched it at the hotel because if I had seen it at the pool, I think it would have cut my legs, it was so incredible."

In my eyes, it's one of the most beautiful races in the history of swimming.

Beryl Gastaldello

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A few minutes earlier, Beryl Gastaldello had set the ^5th fastest time in the 100m freestyle heats and she too could only be full of praise for Marchand. "I had trouble falling asleep when I wasn't swimming, but what Léon had just done... In my eyes, it's one of the greatest races in the history of swimming. To beat such a world record by 1.3 seconds is fantastic. I'm really proud and happy for him, with all the work he's done and also the little setbacks he's had."

And the Frenchwoman continued her praise by going beyond simple athletic performance, as admirable as she was: "When you're a champion, you're a champion physically, mentally until the end. Gretchen (Walsh) showed that too. She was sick and despite that, she won the 100m butterfly. They are good examples to follow. I really like these people because they are very humble, even though they are the best in the world and they completely crush the competition. That's really what I remember about these people, the fact that they remain simple and nice. They don't take themselves too seriously and that's really the trait I like the most about them."