Marchand smashes 200 individual medley world record at world champs
Marchand won four individual gold medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024 but his efforts at his home Games left him exhausted and needing time to rest.
He returned to action in Florida in May and arrived in Singapore with only the 200 and 400 medleys on his programme for individual events.
The 23-year-old has slipped back into competition mode with ease and produced a stunning 1:52.69 in his 200 medley semifinal to shave nearly one-and-a-half seconds off Ryan Lochte's mark (1:54.00) set at the world championships in Shanghai in 2011.
The Toulouse native shook his fist and punched the water in celebration, and later said the decision to come in with a lighter workload had been vindicated.
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