Michael Phelps and Leon Marchand share a lot in common, and the most decorated Olympian even admits seeing himself in this young prodigy making waves in the French capital. The “Baltimore Bullet,” who is now proudly cheering on the new generation of swimmers with NBC at Paris La Défense Arena, watched Marchand snag his first Olympic gold in the men’s 400-meter individual medley on July 29.

This victory on home turf was a sweet moment that the “Flying Fish” never got to experience on American soil since the U.S. didn’t host the Olympics during his career. Phelps couldn’t resist sharing this special moment with the rising star, offering words of wisdom and a hearty dose of pride.

In an interview with NBC, he advised Marchand to savor the moment and make history on his home turf, saying, “I think for him yes, especially after getting that first gold medal off his back, in your home country, you can kinda let go a little bit, just have fun.” It’s a piece of advice that’s all about balancing the thrill of victory with the joy of the journey—something Phelps knows a thing or two about. But that’s not all!

Ahead of his big race against world record holder Kristof Milak of Hungary in the men’s 200m butterfly, Phelps shared his confidence in the 22-year-old Frenchman, who is training with his former coach, Bob Bowman. Michael said, “He’s got a lot of experience, he’s got my old coach right now, so, and you heard him on air, he wants to go out there and pop out 2 swims. So he’s popping in two big races.”

Drawing from his own experience, Phelps added, “When you’re swimming in a big program, you have to take one event individually at a time; if you get ahead of yourself, then you’re not fully focused on it. So he’s got to fully focus on that 200 fly. I would still try to take that a little bit and put some pressure on Milak. And then we’ll see what happens.” So, in the late hours of July 31, Leon Marchand did exactly what Michael Phelps hoped he’d do!

Leon Marchand did not disappoint Michael Phelps

The 22-year-old Toulouse native Leon Marchand lit up the Parisian crowd by snagging the gold in the men’s 200-meter butterfly with another Olympic record-breaking performance, leaving world record holder Kristof Milak of Hungary to settle for silver. Marchand clocked in at 1:51.21 seconds—the third-fastest swim ever in this event. Milak, just 0.54 seconds behind, had to watch his Tokyo record get shattered. Canada’s Ilya Kharun swam his way to bronze with a time of 1:52.80.

Milak had kicked off at a torrid pace, but Marchand was simply unstoppable. But wait, there’s more! In his second race of the day and third at the Paris Olympics, Marchand showed he was ready to take the torch from Michael Phelps. Marchand wrapped up his 200m fly gold around 8:40 PM local time in Paris, had his medal ceremony at 9:35, and was back in the water at 10:31 to chase the 200m breaststroke gold.

In the men’s 200-meter breaststroke, Marchand pulled off a stunning double, adding one more gold to his kitty, clocking an Olympic record time of 2:05.85—the second-fastest in history. This brought his total to 3 gold medals at the Paris Olympics. He’s now in the elite club of men who have won 3 individual golds at the same Olympics, rubbing shoulders with legends like Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, and Caeleb Dressel.

In the men’s 200-meter breaststroke final, Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook took silver with 2:06.79, while the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau grabbed bronze with 2:07.90. Marchand has now dethroned reigning world champions in all 3 of his medal events—Chase Kalisz in 400m IM, Kristof Milak in 200m fly, and Zac Stubblety-Cook in 200m breast. And if that wasn’t enough, Leon Marchand pulled off an iconic feat in Olympic history, snagging gold in both the 200 fly and 200 back in under 2 hours—something no swimmer has done since 1976!

As we reflect on these epic feats by France’s swimming sensation, what do you think of Michael Phelps’s advice and special request to the Frenchman? Share your thoughts in the comments below!