Leon Marchand has been on the list of legends since the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. It is here that he broke another legend, Michael Phelps’ world record in 400m. And ever since, Marchand has been on a rollercoaster that only goes up! His 2024 season was perhaps the peak of the record-breaking season. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Marchand won four gold medals! Marchand won the gold in the 200m breaststroke and butterfly and the other two golds in the 400m and 200m medley.

Although Marchand’s physique and speed are quintessential to this win, there was one other factor adding on. The winning factor is called Bob Bowman. The history of Bob and Phelps’ is an age-old one, but with Marchand, it is a story still in its making. But unfortunately, Bob and Marchand have had to go their separate ways. Bob is taking on a new role as the head coach for the University of Texas. A transition that has left Marchand out in the cold right before the World Cup. So, who is going to help Marchand train to win?

Learn about the current coach of French swimmer Leon Marchand.

Enter Nicolas Castel, the man who actually wrote Leon Marchand’s first few pages in the pool! Marchand has decided not to go into the wilderness of coaches and colleges to find his next mentor. Instead, he went back to his roots. Castel currently leads the charge of the Toulouse club, the TOEC Dolphins. The same place that Marchand fell in love with the water. Castel knew the ins and outs of what makes this Marchand tick much before the world knew his name.

Castel’s training style is familiar one for Marchand, which will make the transition slightly easier. It will be under Castel that Marchand will train until 2025. Marchand’s parents, Xavier and Céline, have always been supportive of Castel’s involvement. After all, Castel has seen Marchand go from a shy child with modest expectations to having the biggest banner of him hanging down at the Olympics. However, back in the day, Marchand was not as impressive.

As Castel himself puts it, “He was pretty good, but not exceptional either.” But as the years passed, Marchand, who barely weighed 40 kg at age 11, turned into the fastest man in water. “Every year, I pushed him a bit more. He was quiet, but he listened to the coaches and was a quick learner. It was important to improve his coordination. Every time we set ourselves a goal, we achieved it,” added Castel.

Despite moving to the United States to train with Bob Bowman, Marchand kept in touch with his roots and the coach who got him swimming. He always checked in with his old coach, and Castel even visited Marchand in Arizona. The two have for years shared a camaraderie that has weathered a lot of storms. But when it comes to winning medals, the duo does not have a great history. Under Castel, Marchand won two bronzes at the European Junior Championships in 2019. And also won another bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2019. So when did he start breaking records?

Leon Marchand’s swimming career flourished under Bob Bowman.

Well, the answer lies in the mysteries of Bob Bowman’s training. While Marchand trained under Bob, even Castel couldn’t deny the greatness in front of his eyes. As Castel himself puts it, “There wasn’t a moment when we said to ourselves: ‘This is it, this is the future, Michael Phelps.’ It happened gradually.” With Bob, Leon has won five Olympic medals and five World Championship titles. That’s not even the most impressive part!

The duo won all those medals in a span of two years! This change, perhaps, is what extends the versatility of Leon Marchand further. Leon is already off to his big competition. He will be seen at the 2024 World Cup in Shanghai. The stakes are not the only thing high this year. The prize money is an equally big one and has $100,000 on the line. Despite Bowman not coaching Marchand, he seems confident in his abilities and went on to say, “I think you’ll see in the World Cups that he’ll play with different events and see what happens.”

The World Cup is set to happen across three destinations. It starts in Shanghai, China (October 18-20) and then goes to Incheon, South Korea (October 24-26). And finally ends in Singapore (October 31-November 2). While the Worlds might end, Leon Marchand’s thirst to win doesn’t. Post the Worlds, he is also prepping for the World Short Course Championships in Budapest, Hungary (December 10–15). As the competitions queue up, Marchand is set for the last showdown of the 2024 season.