Title in 400 IM at French Champs is Latest Display of Event Dominance from Leon Marchand
Ahead of the opening day of the French Elite Championships in Saint-Etienne, there was little doubt Leon Marchand would register a season-best performance in the 400-meter individual medley. With a berth to the upcoming European Championships at stake, Marchand figured to be in fine form, consequently allowing him to comfortably better the 4:09.33 he managed in early May at the Fort Lauderdale Open.
But Marchand did much more than drop a few seconds while positioning himself for a run at the European title, a crown that he has not yet garnered during his Hall of Fame career. Instead, the 24-year-old produced an all-time mark, clocking 4:04.56 for the fifth-fastest time in history. With Marchand going sub-4:05 at this point in the campaign, look for the Frenchman to challenge his world record when he contests the event on August 10 in Paris.
Thanks to his outing at the French Champs, Marchand now owns five of the six-fastest times in the event, only the legendary Michael Phelps joining Marchand in sub-4:05 territory. Phelps’ performance, a 4:03.84, arrived during the opening morning of finals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and ignited the American’s run to a record eight gold medals inside the Water Cube.
The dominance of Marchand in the 400 IM is downright stunning. His world record of 4:02.50 sits 1.34 seconds clear of Phelps’ iconic swim from Beijing, and Marchand also owns a time of 4:02.95, the mark that landed him gold at a home Olympiad in 2024. There is no weakness in the French star, his backstroke having developed through the years to a point where it is an asset, and does not require wallpapering from the other three strokes.
What does a 4:04.56 at a domestic trials mean for the summer ahead? Well, Marchand’s four-faster times all came at a global-championships meet – three World Champs and an Olympics. So, the fact that the Bob Bowman-coached athlete has never been this fast this early bodes well for what might be seen in less than two months. The time is also promising for what Marchand might do in his remaining events in Saint-Etienne – the 200 medley, 200 butterfly, 200 breaststroke, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.
In addition to Marchand adding another sub-4:05 to his collection, the performance marked the 10th sub-4:10 effort of his career. That total ranks Marchand fifth all-time, with Japan’s Daiya Seto (20) and the United States’ Chase Kalisz leading that statistical category.
Top-10 Times – 400 Individual Medley
1. Leon Marchand – 4:02.50 (2023)
2. Leon Marchand – 4:02.95 (2024)
3. Michael Phelps – 4:03.84 (2008)
4. Leon Marchand – 4:04.28 (2022)
5. Leon Marchand – 4:04.56 (2026)
6. Leon Marchand – 4:04.73 (2025)
7. Ryan Lochte – 4:05.18 (2012)
8. Michael Phelps – 4:05.25 (2008)
9. Chase Kalisz – 4:05.90 (2017)
10. Kosuke Hagino – 4:06.05 (2016)
Most Sub-4:10s – 400 Individual Medley
1. Daiya Seto – 20
2. Chase Kalisz – 19
3. Carson Foster – 13
4. Kosuke Hagino – 12
5. Leon Marchand – 10
6. Michael Phelps – 9
7. Ryan Lochte – 8
8. Laszlo Cseh – 6
8. Tyler Clary – 6
10. David Verraszto – 5
10. Tomoyuki Matsushita – 5
10. Asaki Nishikawa – 5
French Elite Championships (Meet Results)