Olympic swimming: Leon Marchand and Katie Ledecky create history in Paris

French swimmer Leon Marchand made history in front of an enthusiastic home audience by winning two gold medals, while American Katie Ledecky earned her eighth Olympic gold medal, tying a record, in an exciting night of swimming in Paris.

In an impressive and loud setting, Marchand accomplished the rare achievement of winning two gold medals in the same swimming session.

The young 22-year-old athlete managed to beat the current champion and record holder from Hungary, Kristof Milak, to win the 200m butterfly race. Then, less than two hours later, he went back to the pool and easily won the 200m breaststroke, earning his third gold medal of the Games.

Nobody had ever won both the men's 200m butterfly and breaststroke events in the Olympics before, but Marchand managed to do so and set new record times in the process.

By becoming the first swimmer in over 40 years to achieve two individual gold medals in one evening at the Olympics, the main face of these Games solidified his status as a worldwide superstar in swimming.

"When we mention top swimmers like Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe, we must now include Leon Marchand in that conversation because he has truly impressed us with his talent," stated British Olympic champion Adrian Moorhouse during a BBC TV interview.

Earlier, 27-year-old Ledecky, who has been highly admired for a long time, outperformed her competitors to keep her 1500m freestyle championship in an Olympic record time - and tied with fellow American swimmer Jenny Thompson as the most accomplished female swimmer in Olympic history.

It was Ledecky's twelfth medal in total, tying her record with Thompson. Thompson earned eight golds, three silvers, and one bronze between 1992 and 2004.

To finish an amazing swimming competition, Pan Zhanle from China set a new world record in the 100m freestyle with a time of 46.40 seconds. He made sure to leave a lasting impression in one of the sport's most prestigious events.

The indoor arena with a capacity of 15,000 people is already being praised as the most energetic and top-notch swimming venue in recent history. Tickets to watch Marchand, who hails from Toulouse, have been in high demand.

This was different - every time Marchand swam in the breaststroke portion, the crowd cheered loudly with shouts of "Go!" They came prepared with flags, horns, and masks of their favorite swimmer.

The first win was really exciting. He was behind by a whole body length towards the end, but managed to pass Milak and win in just over one minute and fifty-one seconds. The crowd was on their feet cheering him on.

Marchand received his first medal before his next race, but instead of celebrating with Milak and bronze medallist Ilya Kharun of Canada, he left quickly to rest and recuperate.

After finishing a flawless swim race, he crossed the finish line in 2 minutes and 5.85 seconds, defeating Australia's Zac Stubblety-Cook, who was the previous champion, by nearly a whole second. Following his victory, he received a lot of praise on various social media platforms.

French leader Emmanuel Macron called him the "seller of dreams" and a "legend", and soccer star Antoine Griezmann referred to Marchand as the "Prince of the Pool".

Marchand has quickly become a prominent figure in the world of swimming ever since he reached out to legendary coach Bob Bowman, who used to coach the renowned US swimmer Michael Phelps. Bowman gladly accepted Marchand's request to train with him, solidifying his status as a rising star in the sport.

In March of last year, Marchand, nicknamed 'the new monster' in Japan, surpassed Phelps' final world record in the 400m medley, solidifying his position as a top all-around swimmer.

He also won the 400m medley championship here on Sunday, but in these victories on Wednesday, the schedule was changed to give him the opportunity to compete against experts in their respective strokes.

A commentator from the BBC and former Olympic swimmer, Andy Jameson, mentioned that achieving two Olympic gold medals in a single event is an impressive feat that even Michael Phelps did not attempt.

I can't believe he had the nerve to attempt it, let alone succeed in both instances.

The evening closed with a last performance of the French national anthem, yet it seemed like the celebration would continue late into the night.

Marchand will take a break on Thursday before coming back to compete in his fourth event on Friday. He will be facing off against Tom Dean and Duncan Scott from Britain in the 200m medley race.

Ledecky, a champion in long-distance swimming, outperformed her previous time in Tokyo by seven seconds, leading many to think that the American athlete is somehow improving even more.

When she crossed the finish line in Paris clocking in at 15 minutes and 30.02 seconds, she was all alone in the lead on the television screen.

In London 2012, Ledecky claimed her first gold medal when she was just 15 years old. She went on to win four more gold medals in Rio de Janeiro and added two more in Tokyo. Ledecky has now won a total of six swimming gold medals, second only to Phelps in the history of the sport.

The 27-year-old will also be participating in the 800m freestyle event on Friday. She has won three Olympic titles and currently holds the world record in this event.

If Ledecky wins again, she will tie with gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most accomplished female Olympian in any sport. Latynina, who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s, won a total of nine gold medals.