Leon Marchand Only Took 2 Days to Match Gretchen Walsh’s Stellar NCAA Stack

After a shining 2023 NCAA swimming season, Leon Marchand has been delivering a similar finesse in the pool this time. Along with the elite swimming contests, the 21-year-old Frenchman has eyed this season’s NCAA Division 1 championship as his practice ground for the upcoming Paris Olympics. So, after presenting stellar performances in the first stage, Leon Marchand appeared in the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis in the same fiery mood. 

In the ongoing swimming program battle, it was the third day when Leon Marchand earned special recognition. Eventually, the recognition equaled him with Gretchen Walsh, the standout UVA junior who set the NCAA seasons on fire for the time being. 

Leon Marchand’s usual day out with unusual result 

On day 3 in the 2024 NCAA Div 1 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, Leon Marchand fought against his coursemate David Schlicht. Moreover, before coming into the 400 IM contest, the Fukuoka world champion boasted of having 6 individual NCAA titles. One more title could place him along with Gretchen Walsh, who has 4 individual NCAA titles from this season and three from the past in the women’s category. 

Eventually, Leon completed the 400 IM race in 3:32.12, almost 0.3 seconds earlier than Schlicht. Meanwhile, ASU Sun Devils’ X-handle celebrated the pupil’s achievement by penning, “MAKE THAT SEVEN NCAA TITLES FOR @LEON_MARCHAND [emoji]”. As far as Leon Marchand’s records are concerned, his 400-yard IM timing from day 3 remains his third-fastest timing.

Moreover, Leon might feel relieved as the final timing was way better than his prelims, one that topped him on the seed list. But last season as well, the ASU junior claimed the 400 IM title with a better clocking. However, that couldn’t denigrate his form in this ongoing NCAA swimming season. As proof of that, on day 2 itself, the Toulouse native earned his sixth NCAA individual title. 

In the heap of records, ASU is gaining momentum

The 500-yard free event wasn’t in Leon Marchand’s favor list until entering this NCAA season. This time, nurturing the Olympics’ perspective, the 5x world champion showed an exceptional spree in the 500 free event. Therefore, on day 2 in Indianapolis, he aimed to provide ASU with an edge over the competitors and repeat his Pac-12 championship performance of this season. 

Eventually, Leon successfully achieved both- shifting ASU before Cal in the points table and shattering his Pac-12 record. Topping everything, he earned his sixth individual NCAA title, finishing the race in 4:02.31. However, after having back-to-back NCAA titles, the ASU standout could only think about his program’s top run in the championship this season. That mindset echoed in his statement after winning the 400 IM contest: “It was a great race. David is one of my best friends. Doing that (1-2) was amazing”. 

Read more: Despite Breaking American and NCAA Records, Gretchen Walsh Left Feeling “Kinda Upset” at Not Completing Personal Goals