Michael Phelps has some great swimming records to his name and is one of the most decorated athletes in the world. He has set some unbelievable benchmarks in the past. Nevertheless, many have tried to come close to his golden numbers, but his records stood still for years. However, French swimming prodigy Leon Marchand broke the Baltimore Bullet’s 440m individual medley record and caused a stir in his fandom.

Leon Marchand, who went past the Flying Fish’s record, has already challenged the long-standing number several times. However, this time, the young swimmer clinched the record and stood atop the podium at Fukuoka World Swimming Championship.

Michael Phelps’ record got a new stakeholder

Leon Marchand from France has just shattered the 21-year-old record in the 400-meter medley. Interestingly, Phelps has held the record since 2002, giving him the longest world record reign in any Olympic event. He broke Tom Dolan’s record in the 400-meter medley during the Pan Pacific Championships in 2002 and clocked a time of 4:11.09; he then bettered this record during the 2008 Olympics.

The 21-year-old French pool sensation made another splash in his career at the ongoing world swimming championship in Japan. He clocked a lightning time of 4 minutes, 2.50 seconds and broke the decades-long record of 4 minutes, 03.84 seconds set by Phelps in the iconic 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Marchand, who holds European and French records across various events, also posed a threat to Phelps record last year when he missed it by a mere 44 hundredths. Interestingly, Marchand trains at Arizona State, and his coach is none other than the legendary Bob Bowman, the man who has coached Michael Phelps for years. The record was Phelps’ first out of his eight medals at the 2008 Olympics, making him the longest-reigning world record holder, he has held this record for.

Leon Marchand into the history books

With this record being broken, Phelps’s records exist no more, as this was his last standing individual world record. After he secured the gold with a record run at Fukuoka, Japan, Leon stated, “That was insane.” He further added, “That was one of the most painful things I did. The best is yet to come.” Talking about his comparison with the record Olympic medalist, he said he doesn’t want to be compared to Phelps and wants to carve his own path.

Now he will be competing in the 200-meter butterfly later this week, the 200-meter breaststroke, and the 200-meter individual medley, in which he is also the reigning world champion. Phelps was present at the events on Sunday, met Marchand, and also believed that his last individual record would be wiped soon. Phelps, who held world records in 100m, 200m, 200m fly, and 400m individual medley, Now he is only part of the team records for 4x100m and 4x200m, which are also the longest reigning team records.

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Leon Marchand’s breakthrough marks the beginning of a new era. While Michael Phelps’ individual records may have been surpassed, his legacy as a legendary athlete will forever be cherished and admired. The sport continues to evolve, and new talents rise to take their place in history.

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