Leon Marchand‘s bid for a pair of Wednesday gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics is off to a flying start after the Frenchman’s late surge pushed him past Kristof Milak for gold in the 200m butterfly final.
Marchand leaned on the lane line after his win and waved his pointer finger cyclically to celebrate a 1:51:21, just ahead of Hungary’s 2022 world champ Kristof Milak and his 1:51:75. Canada’s Ilya Kharun won bronze with a 1:52:80.
Night 5 of swimming will still see the Frenchman compete in the 200m breaststroke. The Paris-born Marchand, 22, won his first gold medal in his second Olympics when France claimed the 400m medley earlier these Games. His fourth event, the 200m IM, is set for Thursday.
Marchand is the 2023 world champion in 200m fly and was up against the world-record holder in Milak. Both men won their respective semifinal heats, with Milak posting the top time, 0.78 seconds faster than Marchand.
Still to come: the 200m breaststroke, which is just 90 minutes after the fly. Despite the time challenge, Marchand gets a bit of a break in that China’s world-record holder, Qin Haiyang, did not qualify for the final. Defending gold medalist Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia will also look for gold, while Japan’s Ippei Watanabe is a contender.
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