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Léon Marchand: The next Michael Phelps?
French sensation Léon Marchand continued one of the most dominant Olympics ever on Friday, becoming the fourth swimmer in history with four individual golds in a single Games.
Four golds, four records: Marchand won the 400m IM on Sunday, the 200m breast and 200m fly on Wednesday, and the 200m IM on Friday — all in Olympic record time. In three of the four races, he faced the defending Olympic champion and ended each of their reigns.
What they’re saying: “It was insane; incredible. I mean, we’re probably seeing something that is similar to Phelps,” American rival Carson Foster told Yahoo Sports. “I grew up looking up to Michael, and I still think he’s the greatest of all time. But I think Léon, with the track he’s on, definitely deserves to be in that conversation.”
From Yahoo Sports’ Henry Bushnell:
Phelps, of course, is Michael, the GOAT on Mount Olympus, the owner of 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold. Marchand, not too long ago, was simply Léon from Toulouse; a week ago, he was still medal-less. He has a long way to go to catch the king of his sport. Some would argue he doesn’t yet belong in the same sentence.
But here, at his second Olympics — like Phelps, Marchand went to his first as a teen and came home empty-handed — he won a golden double that Phelps never even attempted. He equaled Phelps’ individual medal tally from Athens 2004 in a more disparate array of events. He delighted and inspired a home crowd unlike Phelps ever did. He broke Phelps’ Olympic records in both IMs.
So he validated all the comparisons, which have trailed him for a few years now. Perhaps he is not The Next Michael; but he is definitely, for now, the heir to Phelps’ throne.
Made in America: Marchand, like other elite foreign swimmers, trained in America to beat Americans. And not just that: he trained with Phelps’ former coach and mentor, Bob Bowman, who recruited him to Arizona State in 2021.
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As swimmers, they are different, notes Henry: Phelps was physically imposing, while Marchand is far smaller and less powerful. They have different personalities, too — Phelps a combative dog, Marchand more gentle and quiet.
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But as competitors, they are the same: “Léon joins Michael in that very rare club of people who, when the pressure is higher, they perform better,” Bowman said, adding that they “both have a work ethic second to none.”
What’s next: Could Marchand win a fifth individual event in Los Angeles to match Phelps’ record for a single Games?
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Bowman, when asked, said he’d like to add to his program, mentioning the 200 free, the 100 breast and the 100 butterfly as possibilities — in addition to the 200 breast, 200 fly and both IMs.
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Phelps’ golden repertoire featured the 200 free, the 100 and 200 fly, and the IMs, but never breaststroke.
The last word: “He’s gonna be here for a long time. He’s gonna make a lot of noise,” said Phelps, who watched along in the arena or from NBC’s Paris studios, where he cheered for Marchand as if he were his own teammate. Greatness recognizes greatness.
What to watch: Marchand could win one more medal tomorrow — a team medal this time — in the men’s 4×100 medley relay.
I highly recommend reading Henry’s full story. He’s a fantastic writer and I’ve been in awe of his work here in Paris. This guy is at La Défense Arena every night, tracking down swimmers for interviews and writing thousands of words (on deadline!) that always deliver.
Photos of the day
🇺🇸 What a finish! Grant Fisher took bronze with an unbelievable finish in the 10,000m final, becoming the second American to medal in the event since 1964. The top 13 finishers all broke the Olympic record in a historically fast race, which was won by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei.
🇫🇷 Riner wins again: France’s Teddy Riner became the first man to win four Olympic gold medals in judo, capping off a day that began with his quarterfinal opponent earning an indefinite suspension for kicking Riner in the crotch following a loss.
🔥 First world record falls: Team USA’s 4×400 mixed relay team set the first world record of the Paris 2024 track program, smashing the previous mark by 1.39 seconds in Friday’s prelims.
⚽️ Egypt advances on PKs: Egypt beat Paraguay in the first shootout of these Games to reach their first Olympic semifinals. They’ll take on France for a spot in the gold medal match, while Spain and Morocco will meet in the other semifinal.
Day 7 recap: More from Friday
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Athlete spotlight: Vincent Hancock is, quite simply, the most dominant skeet shooter in Olympic history. The three-time gold medalist is favored to win his fourth today; no other Olympian has won more than one.
A phenom from the start: The Florida native, 35, began shooting competitively at age 11 and won his first of seven world titles in 2005 at age 16.
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That same year, the Army began aggressively recruiting Hancock to join their Marksmanship Unit, and he spent the entire summer before his senior year of high school in boot camp.
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He ultimately became a sergeant and spent more than six years in either active duty or reserves as both a shooter and instructor. He remains an instructor to this day as a civilian, and views that work as the most important part of his legacy.
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“These kids are learning gun safety, how to work as a team and, for many of them, it’s about gaining self-confidence,” he told Team USA.
Skeet shooting, explained: One of two Olympic shooting disciplines that uses a shotgun (along with trap), skeet shooters take aim at 25 moving targets per round that are released into the air at different heights from eight different positions. In three rounds during Friday’s qualifiers, Hancock didn’t miss, going a perfect 75-for-75.
More athletes in action:
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💪 Ryan Crouser: The shot put world record holder and two-time defending gold medalist wasn’t sure he’d be able to make it to Paris due to injuries. But he won at U.S. trials and today can become the first-ever three-time Olympic champ.
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🏄 Caroline Marks: Marks fell just short of the podium in Tokyo as a teenager. Now, at 22, the defending World Surf League champion is the only American (man or woman) in the semifinals and could be an Olympic medalist by this evening.
Best of Team USA social: Steph Curry hangs out with the table tennis team … Suni Lee shows off her gold medal … “Go Team USA!” — from America’s National Parks
Team USA: News | Athletes | Shop
Follow along at TeamUSA.com and @TeamUSA on social media.
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Watchlist: The world’s fastest woman
The title of world’s fastest woman is on the line today in Paris, where Sha’Carri Richardson can become the first American woman to win gold in the 100m dash since Gail Devers in 1996.
A heavy favorite: Even before Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson dropped out of the race, Richardson was the favorite given her time at U.S. trials was the world’s fastest this year (10.71 seconds). She’ll race in the semifinal at 1:50pm ET before the final at 3:20pm.
Featured events:
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👟 Track & Field: Five medal events … Men’s Shot Put (1:35pm, Peacock), Women’s Triple Jump (2:20pm, Peacock), Mixed 4x400m Relay (2:55pm, USA), Women’s 100m (3:20pm, USA), Men’s Decathlon 1500m (3:45pm, USA).
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⚽️ Women’s Soccer: USA vs. Japan (9am, USA); Spain vs. Colombia (11am, Peacock); Canada vs. Germany (1pm, Peacock); France vs. Brazil (3pm, Peacock) … Quarterfinals.
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🏊 Swimming: Four medal events (2:30pm, NBC) … Men’s 100m Butterfly, Women’s 200m IM, Women’s 800m Freestyle and Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay.
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🤸♀️ Gymnastics: Men’s Floor Final (9:30am, E!); Women’s Vault Final (10:20am, NBC); Men’s Pommel Horse Final (11:10am, Peacock) … Keep an eye out for Stephen Nedoroscik, the bespectacled hero of the USA’s bronze in the team event, in the pommel horse final.
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🏄 Surfing: Men’s (3:30pm, Peacock) and Women’s Finals (4:30pm) … After yet another delay due to surf conditions, they’ll try again to crown a champion.
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🏀 Men’s Basketball: USA vs. Puerto Rico (11:15am, NBC) … Group stage finale.
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🎾 Tennis: China’s Qinwen Zheng vs. Croatia’s Donna Vekić (10am, Peacock) … Women’s Singles Final.
Medal events:
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🏓 Table Tennis: Women’s Singles Finals (7:30am, Peacock)
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🏹 Archery: Women’s Finals (8:30am, Peacock)
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🏸 Badminton: Women’s Doubles Finals (9am, Peacock)
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🎯 Shooting: Men’s Skeet Final (9:30am, Peacock)
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🥋 Judo: Mixed Team Finals (10am, Peacock)
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🤺 Fencing: Women’s Sabre Team Finals (1pm, E!)
Non-medal events: Beach Volleyball, 3×3 Basketball, Boxing, Canoe Slalom, Handball, Hockey, Sailing, Volleyball, Water Polo.
Primetime (NBC): Men’s Shot Put Final and Women’s 100m Butterly Final (8pm), Women’s Gymnastics Vault Final and Women’s Track & Field 100m Final (9pm).
For a complete schedule, click here. Every event streams live on Peacock. Sign up here.
Carini apologizes to Khelif, is “sad” about controversy
The Italian boxer who after 46 seconds abandoned her bout against Algeria’s Imane Khelif says she regrets not shaking Khelif’s hand before leaving the ring and is “sad” about the gender controversy that has engulfed the Games.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do,” Carini told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.” Carini added that if she and Khelif met again, she would “embrace her.”
“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini told the Italian paper. “If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
More from Yahoo Sports…
Ben Fowlkes: Khelif gender controversy is a reminder of the times
To the culture warriors with only a hammer, everything looks like a nail. It doesn’t matter that Khelif has been a woman all her life, or that she’s been boxing in women’s competitions for years, or that she hails from a country where gender transition isn’t even an option.
Dan Wetzel: IOC leaving questions unanswered has created a wildfire of speculation
There will be no solution here that satisfies everyone, especially when the topic is such a political winner for various factions on all sides of the argument around the world. Still, the IOC should have seen all of this coming and been prepared with more information than they admit they have.
Coming up: Khelif will box Hungary’s Anna Luca Homori in the Women’s 66kg quarterfinal today (11am ET).
Lightning round
🇺🇸 The Quincy Wilson mystery: The 16-year-old phenom is the youngest male track & field Olympian in U.S. history, but it’s unclear when he will make his debut in Paris.
🎾 This should be good: Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will meet in Sunday’s men’s singles final after cruising through the semifinals. This will be their seventh head-to-head match, with the two superstars having split the first six meetings.
🤓 Nerding out: American swimmer Kate Douglass and her professor at the University of Virginia, Dr. Ken Ono, have refined a system to use mathematics, physics and technology to swim faster.
🙏 Scary scene: Tamara Potocká collapsed poolside following a women’s 200m IM qualifying heat and was stretchered out of the arena. She reportedly suffered an asthma attack and was being monitored Friday at a local hospital.
Daily trivia
Question: Which city will host the 2032 Summer Olympics?
Hint: Southern Hemisphere.
Answer at the bottom.
In non-Olympics news…
⚾️ No-hitter! Blake Snell threw the 18th no-hitter in Giants history on Friday, striking out 11 Reds in a 3-0 victory on 114 pitches. The reigning Cy Young’s no-no was the third of the season and the second in the past week after Padres’ righty Dylan Cease threw one last Thursday.
Plus:
Trivia answer: Brisbane, Australia
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