'The new monster': French swimmer Léon Marchand mesmerizes Japan (2024)

As soon as Léon Marchand took the lead after 75 meters, the Japanese crowd – not exactly known for being the most boisterous – erupted in a deafening uproar on the evening of Wednesday, July 26 (Tokyo time), in the aquatic hotspot of f*ckuoka, Japan. With the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics just a year away, and following his gold medal in the 400m individual medley on Sunday, the Frenchman continued his rampage at the World Championships with a second straight title in the 200m butterfly, with Poland's Krzysztof Chmielewski (1 minute 53 seconds 62) and Japan's Tomoru Honda (1 minute 53 seconds 66) joining him on the podium.

With a time of 1 minute 52 seconds 43 – the third-best performance of all time, behind Hungary's Kristof Milak and American legend Michael Phelps – the gem from Toulouse spread his wings as if to take off, along with his popularity in Japan.

Ever since his emergence in the summer of 2022 (when he became double world champion in the 400m medley and 200m medley in Budapest and silver medalist in the 200m butterfly), the Japanese have been calling Marchand "Shin-Kaibutsu." Literally, "the new monster." "He was given this nickname because he challenged Michael Phelps' 400m individual medley record. Phelps had originally been dubbed "the monster," explained Daisuke Kikuoka, director for the private television channel Asahi, which broadcasts the World Swimming Championships. "When I first met him, I just saw a polite young boy. But as soon as he swims, he becomes superhuman."

'New hero of international swimming'

As part of the promotion of the competition in the archipelago, the director and his team decided to follow Marchand throughout his season, as well as David Popovici (the Romanian world record-holder in the 100m freestyle) and teenager Summer McIntosh (the Canadian double world record-holder in the 400m freestyle and 400m individual medley). They were quite right to include the French swimmer in the lineup. The pool at Marine Messe, on the northern tip of Kyushu Island, was the backdrop for a majestic 400m individual medley, with reverberations the world over. The 21-year-old prodigy smashed Phelps' last individual record, which had stood for 15 years: 4 minutes 02 seconds 50, compared with 4 minutes 03 seconds 84 for the "Kid from Baltimore."

In the port of Hakata, on the periphery of the site that will be hosting the world's top swimmers through July 30, it is still a little early to talk about "Marchandmania." He is not a household name quite yet, but his record and two gold medals in three days are starting to make waves. His pool-blue eyes and blond curls are now clearly recognized. "Ah, the superstar?" asked Toru Iga, a fan of Marchand's Japanese rival Daiya Seto, who won the bronze in the 400 m individual medley. On Sunday, the 27-year-old traveled all the way from Tokyo to watch this race, which had long been marked on his calendar. Not surprising, given the country's long-standing swimming tradition.

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