He was one of the most eagerly awaited French athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. And the 22-year-old swimmer has already done France proud. Léon Marchand dazzled the public by winning gold in the 400 metres medley, 200 metres butterfly and 200 metres breaststroke. A look back at the career of a swimming prodigy whose future looks more than promising.
His name is on everyone’s lips. As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games galvanise the whole world, Léon Marchand is already a leading figure in the swimming events. Acclaimed for his impressive performances, championship titles and records, the young swimmer from Toulouse born in 2002 seems to be at one with the water. And has been ever since he was a youngster.
A phenomenon that made him the first Olympic athlete to become an ambassador for the LVMH group at the end of July 2023.
A family of swimmers
Léon Marchand’s passion for swimming is no accident. His father Xavier Marchand won the silver and bronze medals in the 200 m medley at the European Championships in 1997 and 2000 respectively. At the 1998 World Championships, the athlete won the silver medal, again in the 200 m medley.
Her mother Céline Bonnet is also a great swimmer. A member of the French team at the 1992 Olympic Games, she was French swimming champion in the early 1990s in the 100 metres backstroke, 200 metres individual medley and 400 metres individual medley. She holds a French swimming record in the 100 metres individual medley and the 200 metres individual medley.
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Featured photo: Léon Marchand © Omega
