In the years since the greatest swimmer of all time announced his retirement, America has been desperately searching for the next Michael Phelps.
Now, eight years after Phelps’s double at the Rio Games, the U.S. has finally discovered an heir apparent — a swimmer so strong, so versatile, so dominant that the question isn’t whether he’ll win gold medals in Paris. How much does it cost? He even trains with Phelps’s legendary former coach, Bob Bowman.
Unfortunately for Team USA, there’s just one problem: Leon Marchand is French.
Marchand, 22, from Toulouse, could be the face of the Games for France. If all goes well at La Défense Arena, he could win as many as five medals. Much of that will be down to his astonishing improvement since meeting Bowman at the relatively young age of 17.
The email to Bowman
Unlike Phelps, who practically landed on Bowman’s doorstep in Baltimore, Marchand lived and trained in the south of France. He had just delivered a gutsy performance at the 2019 World Junior Championships, where he placed third, when he emailed Bowman. Bowman recalls seeing a “little guy who didn’t look big or strong,” but who had a lot of potential. “I knew he could be improved,” he said, “but I wasn’t sure what the highest level could be.”
At the same time, a number of American college coaches began approaching Marchand, asking him to cross the Atlantic. His parents, both former professional swimmers who had coached at Auburn University, encouraged him to consider the opportunity. But Marchand had only one American coach in mind. So he was skeptical when Bowman emailed him within 30 minutes, promising to help him make it to the Paris Olympics.
Training in Arizona
“I knew he could bring out the best in me,” said Marchand, who moved to the U.S. to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. Then came the pandemic, which delayed the Games and gave him valuable time to continue improving in the pool. He finished sixth.
After Tokyo, he stayed in Arizona and joined Bowman’s elite training team. There he encountered a group of Olympians and a completely different style of training. Now he’s ready for the championship.