Jabar Ekspres – French swimmer Leon Marchand broke Michael Phelps’ record in the men’s 400m medley category at the 2023 FINA Aquatic World Championships, held in Fukuoka, Japan, Sunday (23/7).
Quoted from the official Olympic website, Monday, the achievement that led Marchand to the gold medal in the category also made Phelps no longer have a world record for individual swimming.
Marchand is 1.34 seconds faster than Phelps’ previous record of 4 minutes 03.84 seconds. The French swimmer set a new record with a time of 4 minutes 02.5 seconds, beating the record set by Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In addition, Marchand also broke the dominance of Phelps who held the record for 15 years.
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“It was crazy, one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done. It’s amazing to do it here and be able to post a faster time. But I still have the best version of myself,” Marchand said.
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“It feels great too, I trained every day for it (to break the personal and world records). I’m two seconds faster than my previous record, I beat the world record, it’s amazing… I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy,” he said.
Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with a record 28 medals, was there to present Marchand with his gold at this year’s Aquatics World Championships.
Leon Marchand said the legendary American swimmer was impressed with his times and told him that he can continue to improve his skills and experience as a swimmer.
“He commented on my race, so that was really cool. He also told me a lot of things to improve next time,” said Marchand, who is coached by Phelps’ former mentor Bob Bowman.
Marchand finished ahead of American Carson Foster, who clocked 4 minutes 06.56 seconds, and Japan’s Daiya Seto, who came third with a time of 4 minutes 09.41 seconds.