Leon Marchand wins gold in 200m fly, 200m breaststroke

Leon Marchand achieved impressive success at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning two gold medals on Wednesday. In a thrilling final race, he overtook Kristof Milak to win the 200m butterfly event. Just 90 minutes later, he dominated the competition in the 200m breaststroke final to claim another gold medal.

Marchand stood by the edge of the pool after winning the butterfly race and waved his finger in a circular motion to celebrate his time of 1:51.21, narrowly beating Hungary's world champion Kristof Milak who finished with a time of 1:51.75. Canada's Ilya Kharun took home the bronze medal with a time of 1:52.80.

Results from the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke races.

Afterwards, he excelled in the breaststroke race, finishing with a time of 2 minutes and 5 seconds to outperform competitors Zac Stubblety-Cook from Australia (2:06:79) and Caspar Corbeau from the Netherlands (2:07.90). American swimmer Josh Matheny came in seventh place with a time of 2 minutes and 9 seconds.

Marchand, who was born in Paris and is 22 years old, achieved his first Olympic gold medal in his second appearance in the Games. France secured the 400m medley event at the recent Olympics.

Marchand claimed the title of world champion in the 200m butterfly event in 2023, facing tough competition from the current world-record holder, Milak. Both athletes emerged victorious in their semifinal races, with Milak finishing with a top time that was 0.78 seconds quicker than Marchand's.

Marchand was lucky in the breaststroke event because Qin Haiyang, who holds the world record for that event, did not make it to the final round.

Marchand will be competing in the 200m IM event on Thursday, aiming to win his fourth gold medal of the Games.