Leon Marchand has suddenly come to a stop after almost going into God mode for the last few days. Coming in for the Paris Olympics, the hype was real for Marchand. However, very few did anticipate the extent of domination the Frenchman would dish out splashing the French waters. Competing in his homeland, Marchand rummaged through the pool to clinch four gold medals in all four events that he was a part of. And the juggernaut just kept rolling even after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics. 

Coming in for the Swimming World Cup, Leon Marchand replicated his fiery form in Shanghai. He immediately went to work, clinching three gold medals in quick succession. However, just like all good things must come to an end, so did the Marchand Mania gold rush. Competing in the 200m men’s breaststroke, the Olympic champion not only failed to win the gold but also missed a podium finish altogether. 

In a surprising turn of events, Joshua Yong of Australia clocked a time of 2:01.67s to win the gold medal. Haiyang Qin, who has already won a gold medal in the ongoing World Cup, secured the silver medal by reaching the finish line in 2:01.92s. Rounding off the podium was the Dutch swimmer Caspar Corbeau, whose time of 2:02.42s earned him a bronze medal. Shockingly, Marchand lagged way behind and came up with a meager 2:02.99s to finish in the fourth position. What was even more startling was the fact that Marchand’s time was 0.57s slower than the third-placed Corbeau. 

While such a setback will surely dishearten Marchand’s fans, a large chunk of his failure can be attributed to Bob Bowman’s absence. Bowman, who was one of the best coaches that helped Michael Phelps attain legendary status, has been working with Leon Marchand for quite some time now. Unfortunately, since coming into Shanghai, Marchand has been without the services of his chief mentor.

This is because Bob Bowman is currently in Texas, taking up the mantle of the Texas Longhorns’ head coach. Thus, with childhood coach Nicolas Castel aiding Marchand, the duo needs to get back to the drawing board and quickly and reassess. But truth be told, one single slip-up might not be that much of a concern for Marchand and Co. considering the form he has shown in recent times.

Leon Marchand has been in red-hot form in Shanghai

Leon Marchand won back-to-back gold medals in his first three events in the World Cup. Appearing for his first event in the 100m M, Marchand came from behind to clock a whirlwind time of 50.65s to register his first gold. Then came the 200m M where things got a little wild for the French champion. Looking at his elements from the very first minute, the 4x Olympic champion swam a time of 1:50.30s to take the World Cup, the European, and the French records. 

Later on today, just before his 200m breaststroke final, Marchand made a hattrick of gold medals. Competing in the 400m M, the next big thing in swimming, recorded a time of 4:00.03s to clinch his third gold medal. Now then, missing out on the 200m breaststroke will surely sting the champion. But this is a stark reminder of why Bob Bowman seemed unhappy with Marchand despite his heroics in Paris. 

In a recent analysis, Bowman mentioned that the French swimmer has yet to reach his full potential. He also emphasized heavily on the importance of the rehabilitation process after a tiring pool session. Marchand’s mentor also pointed out some of his technical flaws that would require some fine tuning. Surely enough, the duo will reunite in Texas in early 2025 after their brief separation. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how Castel and Marchand respond in the face of failure and whether they can come back and get on the winning scheme of things again.