Leon Marchand, Ilya Kharun to Lead Pursuit of Sizzling 200 Butterfly Short Course World Record
Four years ago this month, Tomoru Honda brought the short course world record in the men’s 200 butterfly to a new plane of competitiveness. The Japanese swimmer had already established himself as a key international player in the event, with an Olympic silver medal and World Championships bronze in his pocket, when he exploded for a time of 1:46.85, a massive 1.39-second improvement over the world record previously held by countryman Daiya Seto.
Since then, no one has come close to that time or even reached 1:47 territory. Seto’s 2018 time remains tied for the second-quickest mark in history; Ilya Kharun matched that time on his way to gold at the 2024 Short Course World Championships. Honda, meanwhile, has since fallen off considerably. He missed the semifinals in the 200 fly at the Paris Olympics, and he was left off the Japanese teams for this year’s Pan Pacific Championships and Asian Games after a reckless driving charge.
His name remains attached to this world record, a time seemingly far beyond the capabilities of anyone regularly racing short course meters, but that could change in the next few months. The Short Course World Championships, scheduled for early December in Beijing, should attract a large contingent of swimmers who eschew racing in the 25-meter course most years.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
That list of possible attendees includes all three men who swam below 1:50 at the 2024 edition of the meet. Kharun would be racing for a new country this time around, having switched his sporting nationality from Canada to the United States. He becomes eligible to represent the U.S. this month, just in time for the U.S. selection meet for Short Course Worlds. Also returning will be Italy’s Alberto Razzetti, who set a European record of 1:48.64 in that race to become the sixth-fastest man in history, and Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski, a three-time medalist in this event on the global level.
But the man with the best chance of challenging this world record is Leon Marchand, the world’s dominant swimmer for more than four years. The Frenchman with four Olympic gold medals and seven long course world titles has never competed at Short Course Worlds, but he should be even better than he is at long course. Anyone who watched Marchand during his three years of college swimming at Arizona State University can attest to that.
In long course, Marchand holds the world records in both individual medley events, and he ranks among the three fastest performers ever in the 200 fly and 200 breaststroke. Provided he has recovered from an adductor injury that limited his program at the European Championships, Marchand could wrack up a huge gold-medal tally in Beijing. Even while managing the injury over the summer, he surged to a time of 1:51.72 in the long course event, the eighth-best in history. Given his underwater dolphin kicking skills, Marchand certainly has the capabilities to swim a 1:46 in short course.
The other key figure to watch is American Luca Urlando, provided he is one of the two representatives for his country competing in Beijing. Urlando has not lost a 200 fly in any format since failing to make the semifinals at the Paris Games. He followed up an unexpected world title last year with a gold in the event at Pan Pacs. Of course, he has not raced Marchand in that span, and he must first contend with a new domestic for in Kharun.
The 200 fly has seen substantial jumps in long course since Kristof Milak first broke Michael Phelps’ long-standing world record in the event. Since then, Marchand and Urlando have both reached 1:51 territory while Seto, Chmielewski, Honda and Kharun have all clocked 1:52s. The short course event, however, feels due for a jump or at least a catching up to Honda’s far-out world record.