Leon Marchand shattered the swimming 200m individual medley (IM) world record on Wednesday (30 July) during the semi-finals of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. The Frenchman clocked 1:52.69 to surpass Ryan Lochte’s 1:54:00 that was set 14 years ago.
The four-time Olympic champion was determined to rewrite history stepping into the competition.
“For me, it’s a victory,” Marchand said after the race. “Especially since this record isn’t just equalised; it was by more than a second. I’m having some difficulty believing it: the 200m IM. But I am so happy. That was so cool.
“Today I felt really good. Before the race, I felt really light. I was taking a lot of water on and on a technical level, that was great. So we spoke with Bob [Bowman] and Nico [Castel], and we agreed we needed to go for it tonight.
“In the race, I went all in at the start. I was so relaxed. I took a lot of water, my underwater glides were about 15m each, and there were not a lot of mistakes. I didn’t think I was that fast, but I gave it my all.”
What helped Leon Marchand?
After his phenomenal performance at Paris Olympics where he won four gold medals and bronze medal, Marchand made a strategy to keep a lighter routine at the World Championships. He opted to skip he short course world championships in Hungary last December.
His return to the pool was delayed further due to injury until he appeared at the TYR Pro Series in Florida in May.
Ahead of the Singapore World Championships, the 23-year-old announced that he would be trying a lighter schedule, choosing only to contest the medley events individually.
Marchand got his world championships campaign underway on Wednesday morning, clocking a time of 1:57.63 in the heats.
He said he would go all-out for the record in the semifinals rather than conserve his energy for Thursday’s final.
That decision ultimately paid off.
“I don’t even know how to describe this emotion. Surprise. Very surprised. And joy. It tells me that all the choices I made this year were the right ones, and I want to thank everyone who is behind me,” Marchand continued.
“I was injured this year, but I trained every day. There was no day I was out of the water since the Games. I had this record in my head, but I didn’t think it could happen that early.”
Over the moon
It was a surreal moment for Leon Marchand who perfectly executed his plan.
“I actually can’t really believe it right now,” said Marchand, after breaking the world record.
“I knew I was going to get close to my personal best because I felt really good today and the preparation has been pretty good so I was excited to race.
“But, 1:52 is unbelievable for me.”
“What’s crazy is that it’s a whole second — and it’s still hard to believe,” he said. “1:52 on the 200 meters — that’s insane.”
Also Read: Leon Marchand, Summer McIntosh Win Swimmer Of The Year 2024 Awards
Marchand Bids To Break His Own Record In the Final
Marchand will swim the 200 IM Final on Thursday. One can expect the swimming star to go even further.
He will also feature in 400 IM Final on Sunday, the final day of the world championships. He holds that record of 4:02.50 set in the 2023 worlds in Fukuoka, Japan. And it seems likely to go.
