Katie Ledecky Blows Away Competition In 1,500-Meter Freestyle Gold-Winning Performance

NANTERRE, France (AP) — Turns out, those comparisons to Michael Phelps weren’t farfetched at all when to comes to Léon Marchand.

They certainly weren’t a burden for the 22-year-old Frenchman.

Marchand completed one of the most audacious doubles in swimming history Wednesday night, winning the 200-meter butterfly and the 200 breaststroke about two hours apart at the Paris Games.

Two grueling races. Two very different strokes. Two Olympic records. Two gold medals.

History is being written before our eyes, with Léon Marchand as the author.
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L'Histoire s'écrit sous nos yeux, Léon Marchand en est l'auteur 🥇#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/dyKC6e2xE8

— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) July 31, 2024

Take that, Phelps.

Thrilling the home fans and claiming the spotlight even on a night when Katie Ledecky romped to another gold medal, Marchand claimed his second and third victories at La Defense Arena and stamped himself — with the Olympics not even a week old — as one of the faces of these games.

No other swimmer was even in the frame when Katie Ledecky finished 😳

Absolute DOMINANCE as she breaks the women's 1500m freestyle Olympic record 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YcoQS2AlzB

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 31, 2024

After rallying to beat world-record holder and defending Olympic champion Kristóf Milák in the 200 fly with a finishing kick for the ages, Marchand made it look downright easy in the 200 breast.

He led all the way, touching in 2 minutes and 5.85 seconds as more than 15,000 fans — many of them holding up cardboard cutouts of his smiling face — nearly blew the roof off La Defense Arena.

“Léon! Léon! Léon!” they screamed, a chant that was sure to carry on through the night in Paris.

Follow The 2024 Summer Olympics With KSL Sports

The 2024 Paris Olympics occurs Friday, July 26, through Sunday, August 11. The Paris Games comprises 329 events across 19 days, with 754 competitions and ceremonies for over 10,000 athletes.

Find KSL Sports coverage of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics here.

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