French swimmer Leon Marchand tops Ryan Lochte's world record
July 30 (UPI) -- Leon Marchand sliced the pool water in 1:52.61 to break Ryan Lochte's 200-meter individual medley world record at the World Aquatics Championships on Wednesday in Singapore.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist broke the 14-year-old record in the semifinals of the event at the Singapore Sports Hub.
"I'm grateful for my coaches and all the staff behind me," Marchand, who earned a $30,000 check for his efforts, said on a streaming broadcast of the event. "It's been a pretty hard season, but I'm so happy to be here."
American Shaine Casas finished second, 2.44 behind the Frenchman. Great Britain's Duncan Scott placed third.
Lochte set the record with a 1:54.00 on July 28, 2011, at the world championships. He also owned the previous mark from a 1:54.10 swim in 2009. Michael Phelps set the record in the event eight times before it was broken by Lochte. He clocked a 1:54.23 for his fastest time at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Marchand will compete in the finale at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships -- with a chance to break his own record -- Thursday in Singapore.
Canadian Summer McIntosh (400 freestyle and 200M medley), Australian Mollie O'Callaghan (200M freestyle), German Lukas Maertens (400M freestyle) and Americans Katie Ledecky (1500M freestyle) and Gretchen Walsh (100M butterfly) are among the notable gold medal winners so far at the world championships.
The 2025 World Aquatics Championships will run through Sunday in Singapore.
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