Leon Marchand breaks the last of the world swimming records held by the greatest swimmer in history and the most decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps.
Frenchman Leon Marchand broke the last individual world record of Michael Phelps in the 400m freestyle. Marchand improved the record by more than a second. He did it in the final of the Fukuoka World Championships with a time of 4:02.50. In doing so, he ended Phelps’ long-standing record of 4:03.84, which was set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The 21-year-old trains in Arizona under longtime Phelps coach Bob Bowman, but the Frenchman has made it clear he doesn’t want to be compared to the American all the time.
“I don’t want to be compared to Phelps all the time,” he said before last year’s world championships. “I am very, very far away from him. And Bowman had not only Phelps, but many other [star swimmers]. Let’s say I want to make my own path, I don’t want to follow Phelps.”
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