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Indian Express
34 minutes ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
WATCH: Leon Marchand smashes Ryan Lochte's 14-year-old 200m individual medley world record – ‘A 1:52 on the 200 — that's insane'
A full second. Even Leon Marchand couldn't quite believe what Leon Marchand had just pulled off. The four-time Olympic gold medallist, who was the home hero of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last year, returned to the global stage with a bang on Wednesday by shattering the 200 metres individual medley world record to light up day four of the world championships in Singapore. Marchand blasted through the World Aquatics Championships Arena in one minute, 52.69 seconds in his semi-final, shaving more than 1.3 seconds off Ryan Lochte's long-standing 1:54.00 from the 2011 event in Shanghai. 'I actually can't really believe it right now,' said Marchand. 'I knew I was going to get close to my PB (personal best) because I felt really good today, and the preparation has been pretty good, so I was really excited to race. It's unbelievable for me. What's crazy is that it's a whole second (ahead of Lochte). A 1:52 on the 200 — that's insane. I'm so happy, it's just incredible.' Leon Marchand king of the long course individual medley 😱 #AQUASingapore25 200 IM – Lochte 2011 ➡️ Marchand 2025 ✅ 400 IM – Phelps 2008 ➡️ Marchand 2023 ✅ — World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) July 30, 2025 The 23-year-old from Toulouse also owns the 400 IM world record of 4:02.50. That record, originally held by Micahel Phelps since 2008, was broken in 2023 when Marchand clocked 04:02.50 at World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka. Exhausted after the Paris Games where he won four individual golds, Marchand skipped the short-course world championships in Hungary last December and suffered injuries before returning to the pool for the TYR Pro Series in Florida in May. He is swimming a reduced programme in Singapore, focusing on the 200 and 400 IM alone for individual events, as he works through what he calls a 'transition year'. If this is his transition year, his rivals might wonder what he has in store for them in a normal season. 'I went out hard from the start, but I stayed super relaxed,' Marchand was quoted as saying World Aquatics. My underwaters were hitting 15 metres every time, and I didn't make many mistakes. I didn't realise I was going that fast, but I gave it absolutely everything — arms at full speed to the wall.' 'The 100 has become my strength, which is wild, because it used to be my weak point. Over the last 50, I still had people to chase. I tried to build that last lap well and went all out. It was really tough, obviously, because I was going at such a fast pace.'
The Star
4 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Swimming-Marchand smashes 200 individual medley world record at world championships
Swimming - World Aquatics Championships - Men 200m Medley - Semifinals - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - July 30, 2025 France's Leon Marchand in action during semifinal 2 REUTERS/Edgar Su (Reuters) -France's Olympic champion Leon Marchand obliterated the men's 200 metres individual medley world record with a stunning swim of 1:52.69 in his semi-final at the world championships in Singapore on Wednesday. Marchand shaved nearly one-and-a-half seconds off Ryan Lochte's 2011 mark (1:54.00) set at the world championships in Shanghai to set the Singapore pool alight on day four, the Toulouse native shaking a fist and punching the water in celebration. Exhausted after the Paris Games where he won four individual titles, Marchand skipped the short course world championships in Hungary last December and suffered injuries that delayed his return to the pool until the TYR Pro Series in Florida in May. But swimming a reduced programme in Singapore, focusing on the 200 and 400 IM alone for individual events, he has returned to the global stage with a bang. (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Swimming: Lewis Clareburt to go head-to-head with Olympic champion in Singapore
Lewis Clareburt into semi-finals at World Aquatic Championships. Photo: AAP Image/Dave Hunt/Photosport Leon Marchand was fastest in the 200 metres individual medley (IM) heats at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Wednesday as France's Olympic hero made his long-awaited return to the world stage. The four-times Olympic champion glided to a time of one minute, 57.63 seconds, 0.11 ahead of Japan's Kosuke Makino, in an encouraging start to his bid for a third world title in the event and a possible world record. Exhausted after the Paris Games, Marchand skipped the short course world championships in Hungary last December and suffered injuries before returning to the pool for the TYR Pro Series in Florida in May. He is swimming a reduced programme in Singapore, focusing on the 200 and 400 IM alone for individual events as he works through what he calls a "transition year". Aqua Black Lewis Clareburt was ninth fastest after the 200 IM heats and will race in the same semi-final as Marchand on Thursday morning (NZT). Summer McIntosh is on the other end of the spectrum as she looks to match Michael Phelps's record of five individual gold medals from a single world championships. Having already won two of them, the 200 IM and 400 freestyle, the 18-year-old Canadian started her bid for the third in the 200 butterfly on day four with the fastest swim in the heats (2:07.07). American Regan Smith was third quickest into the semi-finals, more than a second behind McIntosh, while China's 12-year-old wunderkind Yu Zidi was fifth fastest (2:08.95). Three years after winning the 100 and 200 freestyle in Budapest, Romania's David Popovici is eyeing another double in the sprints. The 20-year-old Olympic bronze medallist was fastest in the 100 heats in 47.41, the morning after his 200 triumph in Singapore. Olympic champion and world record holder Pan Zhanle (47.86), and runner-up Kyle Chalmers (47.48) were among eight swimmers under the 48-second barrier on the way to the evening semi-finals. Canada's Kylie Masse qualified fastest for the women's 50 backstroke semi-finals with a time of 27.46. Regan Smith and fellow American Katharine Berkoff, who medalled in the 100 behind winner Kaylee McKeown, were also safely through. Australia's world record holder McKeown skipped the event. The session finished with a shock as Olympic champions the United States failed to reach the final of the 4x100 mixed medley. Several U.S. swimmers have not been at their best in Singapore after a bout of food poisoning swept through the team's pre-meet camp in Thailand. France and Britain also missed out but Italy emerged quickest in the heats in a time of 3:42.19, ahead of the Netherlands and China. Fourth-quickest Australia are also a chance for a medal in the evening final. Five golds will be up for grabs in the evening session, with Australian Olympic champion Mollie O'Callaghan bidding for a second 200 freestyle title in a final in which Aqua Black Erika Fairweather will also be competing. The men's 800 freestyle final will feature Ireland's Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen battling a stacked field including Australian Sam Short and Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi. - Reuters/RNZ
Al-Ahram Weekly
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Swimming: Marchand gears up for 200m IM world record bid - Omni sports
Leon Marchand geared up for an assault on the 200m individual medley world record Wednesday as he cruised through the heats to start his world championship campaign in Singapore. France's Olympic hero, who won four individual golds at last year's Paris Games, is looking to break Ryan Lochte's 200m IM world record of 1min 54.00sec, which has stood since 2011. Marchand is competing only in the medley events in Singapore and he hinted he would go all out for the record in Wednesday evening's semi-finals. "I'll try to get close to my best time tonight," said Marchand, whose personal best in the event is only six hundredths of a second outside the record. "I want to start faster than usual and see what happens." Marchand clocked the fastest time in Wednesday morning's heats in 1:57.63. Japan's Kosuke Makino was second in 1:57.74, with American Shaine Casas third in 1:57.76. Marchand's biggest rival is more likely to be Lochte's world record, having already taken down Michael Phelps's 400m IM mark two years ago. "It was good, I swam well, I think I pretty much did what I wanted to do," Marchand said after his heat. "There are a few technical details that I'll go over with my coach, things I can improve on for tonight." Summer McIntosh was back in action, finishing fastest in the women's 200m butterfly heat in a time of 2min 07.07sec. The Canadian teenager has already bagged two gold medals in Singapore and she is looking to join Phelps as the only swimmer to win five individual titles at a single world championships. Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi joined McIntosh in the semi-finals, coming through in a fifth-fastest time of 2:08.95. Yu finished fourth behind McIntosh in the 200m IM final on Monday. Romania's David Popovici followed up his gold in Tuesday's 200m freestyle final with a fastest time of 47.41sec in the 100m heats. Australia's Kyle Chalmers (47.48) was second, with China's Olympic champion and world record holder Pan Zhanle (47.86) and American Jack Alexy (48.07) also progressing. "I'm the major underdog and the media has made that quite clear in the lead-up to this, that it's a race really between Alexy, Popovici and Pan," said Chalmers, who clocked the same time as he did in the Paris Olympics final, where he claimed silver. "I'm really enjoying being able to fly under the radar." (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Priestman 'didn't feel safe' in Canada after spying ban
Former Canada women's coach Beverly Priestman says she did not feel safe remaining in the country following her one-year ban for spying at the 2024 39-year-old was appointed head coach of New Zealand women's side Wellington Phoenix on Wednesday. It is Priestman's first role since she was banned from football activity for 12 months by Fifa following a spying scandal at the Paris Games last summer. England-born Priestman and two other members of Canada's staff were banned after a drone was used to spy on a training session held by opponents New Zealand before their opening group-stage match. Before a ban was issued, Priestman was removed as head coach by Canada Soccer after they discovered previous drone use against opponents which "predated" the Olympics. "I didn't feel safe [living in Canada]," Priestman said. "That's being brutally honest. It was very difficult for my family, and I have to live with that."Obviously it was an absolute media frenzy. You've got people knocking at your door and everything, and I've got a little boy. Without going into too much detail, it was very difficult. We knew we had to get out of that country."As well as a one-year ban, Priestman was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to flying a drone in an urban area without a licence. In her absence, Canada made it out of the group stages at the Olympics - despite being docked six points for the incident. They were knocked out by Germany on penalties at the quarter-final stage. Priestman, who served as Phil Neville's assistant for two years with England's women, guided Canada to Olympic gold at Tokyo in 2021.
