21-year-old swimming sensation Leon Marchand is known for breaking records, but he may soon need a bigger trophy cabinet with the possibility of four Paris 2024 Swimming World Cup titles in Incheon. Marchand heads into this flagship event in dizzying form after world-leading swims across both the 200m and 400m individual medley. His eyes set on a course of records going back to last-mile frontiers. 

Marchand will be hitting up many different events with his amazing versatility across all four strokes: 200m & 400m Individual Medley, Butterfly, and Breaststroke. With 51.00 seconds, he is already tied with Noe Ponti in the 100m IM and could threaten to reach world records as well. Fans and analysts are speculating about which records the French swimmer is going to break in the ongoing Swimming World Cup in South Korea.

200m Individual Medley (Short Course) World Record

Leon Marchand can take up new challenges, and one the most anticipated is the 200m Individual Medley. The current world record for the fastest 200-meter Individual Medley (Short Course) was set by an American swimmer, Ryan Steven Lochte. He made this record in the FINA World Championships, which were held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 14 December 2012. 

This fastest swimming record for 200m IM is 1:49.63, and French swimmer Leon Marchand has his record of 1:54.06 at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Marchand broke the Olympic record of Michael Phelps with a time of 1:54.23 in the 2008 Olympics. But if we talk about the 200-yard individual medley (IM), Marchand holds the record timing of 1:36.34 at the 2023 NCAA Championships.

Marchand can also break other records, be it 400m IM, or Butterfly, as he has the capability to move forward with his techniques. He already has several records to his name already listed, and even some that he has broken himself.

400m Individual Medley (Short Course) world record

Leon Marchand is no way different than other world record holders. While the world record for the 400m Individual Medley (Short Course) is held by Daiya Seto of Japan, Marchand holds the title in the 400m long course with a time of 4:03.84. Marchand broke the record of Michael Phelps, which Phelps set in 2008.

In the ongoing World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024, Marchand is expected to break Daiya Seto’s record of 3:54.81 in 400m IM (Short Course). Seto made this record on 20 December 2019 at the International Swimming League Grand Final in Las Vegas after nine years.

Leon Marchand’s last best world record for 400m IM is 4:02.50, and this year at the WAS World Cup, he can surely break this five-year-old record. Can Marchand perform his best in the 200m Butterfly technique as well, and what is his best till now?

200m Butterfly (Short Course) World Record

Being the son of swimmer parents, Marchand has a lot of potential to break old records, as he started his training at the age of nine, 200m Butterfly can be one of them. It seems so exciting to see Leon Marchand perform against swimmers like Noe Ponti in this neck-to-neck competition.

The world record for 200m butterfly belongs to Tomoru Honda, which was set at the Short Course National Championship in 2022. The final time Honda won the championship was 1:46.85 after breaking Daiya Seto’s record of 1:48.24. Now that’s the new record Marchand has to surpass to be the number one at 200m Butterfly in short course. There is another technique called Breaststroke which can also be counted to break a record by Marchand.

200m Breaststroke (Short Course) World Record

Another swimming technique in which Marchand has the opportunity to leave his mark is the 200m Breaststroke in a short course. He holds his best record in the category with a time of 2:05.85 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The new record he has to leave behind is Kirill Prigoda’s time of 2:00.16. A Russian swimmer who set up this record at the 14th FINA World Swimming Championships in 2018. 

As Leon Marchand pushes the boundaries to break the record in the swimming pool, the question remains—how many more records can he break in the ongoing World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Finals 2024 held from 24 to 26 October 2024?