The world seems to sometimes forget that Leon Marchand is just 22! Despite being so young, he has already won four Olympic golds. Who could have known that his wins would give the world an eerie sense of deja vu? Soon after the Paris Olympics began, the train of comparison pits him against Michael Phelps. The sword of comparison is a dangerous one to handle, and Marchand knows!

In a recent interview with Clique TV, Marchand was asked about how the comparisons made him feel. He quickly said, “I learned to live with it. Surpassing for me is my main objective.” Surpassing who? He, after all, broke Michael Phelps’ record almost a year ago! What is left to surpass? For Marchand, it is all part of a larger objective.

As Leon Marchand puts it, “It’s not to win; my objective is to surpass myself.” There you have it, folks. Leon is Leon’s biggest competitor. The mantra of constantly improving himself seems to work for him as well. He went on to reminisce about one of his Paris races. “I’ll take an example: for example, in the 400 medley, if I just wanted to win, I might have slowed down at the end. I always try to surpass; I always try to beat my best times, to beat what I was yesterday,” he said.

As Marchand pushed himself, the world saw a young man clock 4:02.95 and take his first-ever gold medal at the Olympics. While the comparisons with Phelps loom at large, breaking his records is not the reason for Marchand being in the pool. Marchand wants to win, of course. The end goal? “Just to be better than the day before, trying to surpass myself all the days. That’s why I swim.”

And there you have it, folks! Leon Marchand is not riding on the coattails of Phelps’ legacy. He is creative on his own. At the same time, acknowledging the shadow that Phelps casts over the sport. His approach isn’t about outshining a legend but about embracing his own evolution as a swimmer. Next destination to witness the evolution? The 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup.

Leon Marchand is preparing for the ultimate test-to-end comparisons

While the world holds its breath, waiting for Leon Marchand to surpass Phelps, he remains unbothered by the noise. Instead, Marchand has jumped back into training to prepare for the next race, where he plans to be better. And possibly better than what the world witnessed at the 2024 Paris Olympics! Soon, fans will see Marchand in Shanghai for the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup. But this time around, it is unlike his previous championships!

Marchand will not be stepping into the pool with Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman’s rigorous training anymore. He will be seen with his new coach, Nicolas Castel, whom he trained with until 2021. This is a major shift that could decide the outcome for Marchand. But why so? All six of his precious World Championship medals were won with the help of Bob Bowman’s pedagogy.

The same tutelage helped him break Phelps’ 400m record at the 2023 World Championships. Marchand clocked 4:02.95, which was 0.89 seconds faster than Micheal Phelp’s time! The 2024 Championships will be the ultimate litmus test to see if Leon can do something that Phelps never was able to. Train without Bob Bowman and win! The competition will happen across Shanghai, Incheon, and Singapore. And Leon Marchand is ready as ever to surpass, not Michael Phelps, but himself!