French swimmer Leon Marchand has broken Michael Phelps’ last individual world record in the men’s 400-meter individual medley on Sunday at the first day of the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Phelps was calling the race when the 21-year-old set a new record of 4:02.50. Phelps set the old record of 4:03.84 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was the last individual record that Phelps held since retiring for good after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals, 23 of them gold. Phelps awarded Marchand his gold medal at the ceremony.
Marchand said poolside after the victory: “It’s excellent, I train everyday for that. I’m two seconds faster than my previous record, I beat the world record, it’s amazing… I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy.. He [Phelps] was very impressed by the time. He was commenting on the race so it was pretty cool to see that. He just told me so many things and also what to improve on next time. It’s a great day. I think I’m handling the pressure pretty well right now. It’s not perfect. I can get better — and I have one year to improve.”
Marchand swims at Arizona State and is coached by Bob Bowman, the coach of the American team at the world championships, and who is Phelps’ longtime coach. Marchand is considered a favorite going into next year’s Paris Olympics.
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