Fresh off of winning a gold medal in the 400 IM, ASU and French swimming superstar Léon Marchand will look to add another piece of silverware to his collection as he is heading to both the 200-meter fly and 200-meter breaststroke finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Recording the fastest time in the semifinal of 1:53.50, Marchand finished second place, narrowly beating former Sun Devils teammate Ilya Kharun (Canada) by 11 milliseconds. Even though Hungary’s Kristóf Milák was No. 1 with 1:52.72 in the first semifinal, both Marchand and Kharun also qualified for the final and will compete against one another.
Onward to the final!
Marchand ???????? (1:53.50) and Ilya ???????? (1:54.01) go 1-2 in the same heat in the 200m Butterfly semifinal to advance to tomorrow's final set to start at 11:37 a.m. AZT ????#ForksUp /// #ParisOlympics /// #OlympiansMadeHere
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) July 30, 2024
The battle between Marchand and Kharun was neck-and-neck for most of the semifinal, with Marchand just getting the better of Kharun. Milák was the gold medal winner of the event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and is the favorite heading into Wednesday’s final.
This is Kharun’s first Olympic Games that he has ever competed in. The 19-year-old won the 200 fly at the 2024 NCAA National Championships where Arizona State won its first title.
Not only is he in one final on Wednesday, but Marchand has a chance at two gold medals on the same day as he completed the 200 breaststroke semifinal in the fastest time, 2:08.11.
Léon Marchand ???????? throws down the fastest swim of the semis with a 2:08.11 to take the top seed going into tomorrow's 200m breaststroke final! Which will take place at approximately 1:31 p.m. AZT! ????#ForksUp /// #ParisOlympics
????: Rob Schumacher – USA TODAY pic.twitter.com/2IzSAH7ey3— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) July 30, 2024
Marchand cruised to victory with Japanese duo Ippei Watanabe and Yu Hanaguruma both about two seconds behind. Cho Sung-jae (Korea) beat Marchand in Heat 4 by 10 milliseconds, 2:09.45 to 2:09:55, but ended up seventh in the semifinal with 2:10.03.
The two Sun Devils Kharun and Marchand will have the chance to win the 200 fly and claim bragging rights over the other on Wednesday at approximately 11:37 a.m. PT.
As for the 200 breaststroke, the final begins around 1:30 p.m. PT.
Winning the 400 IM, Marchand was the first Olympic gold medalist from ASU since James Harden did in men’s basketball back in 2012. In two more finals, he has the chance to become the fifth Sun Devil to win multiple golds at one Olympics, with American archer Justin Huish (two in 1996), men’s swimmer Troy Dalbey (two in 1988), women’s swimmer Melissa Belote-Riple (three in 1972), and men’s track and field’s Henry Carr (two in 1964).
ASU, France swimming superstar Léon Marchand wins first Olympic gold medal in record-breaking time
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
