At the global championships in Singapore on Wednesday, Marchand broke the world record in the 200-meter individual medley by finishing in 1 minute, 52.61 seconds, which was faster than the 1:54.00 set by American Ryan Lochte in 2011.
The Frenchman may theoretically break the record again in Thursday’s finals after setting it while swimming in the quarterfinals.
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He won gold at the Olympics in Paris a year ago, but in Singapore, he is only competing in the 200 and 400 medley and relays. Making plans for a more relaxed schedule during what he refers to as a transition year keeps him motivated to pursue the world records.
Marchand broke the record set by the 14-year-old, breaking it completely.
“What’s crazy is that it’s still hard to believe after a whole second,” he remarked. The 200-meter time of 1:52 is crazy.
On Sunday, which is the last day of the global championships, Marchand will race the 400-meter IM. He still owns the 4:02.50 time record from the 2023 Worlds in Fukuoka, Japan. And it’s probably going to go.
“I felt great before the race today,” he stated. I was absorbing a lot of water, I felt light in the water, and everything felt clean in theory.
“It was probably the right decision,” he said modestly when asked about swimming on a lighter schedule.
Marchand dominated the last freestyle segment, finishing the 150-meter race just 1.8 seconds short of the world record.
Although this race did not result in a world title, which will be awarded in the final on Thursday, it did earn March and a $30,000 prize.
“I went out hard from the beginning,” he added. However, I remained really calm. I made very few mistakes. I gave it everything I had, even though I was unaware that I was moving so quickly. All the way to the wall, arms moving at full speed. I wasn’t even considering technique at that moment.
More than Marchand
With four days remaining, Marchand eclipsed the five finals on Day 4 of the world championship, even though it was only a semifinal. The United States, Australia, Italy, Tunisia, and the Neutral Athletes all won medals from those finals.
The United States’ third gold medal at the championships went to American Luca Urlando, who won the 200-meter butterfly in 1:51.87. Harrison Turner of Australia won bronze in 1:54.17, while Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland finished second in 1:52.64.
After overcoming multiple surgeries, Urlando won his first major championship on the international scene.
He added, “It was a great race, all great—a great moment.” I’m attempting to enjoy myself as much as possible.
He responded, “The belief that I could get back to a moment like this,” when asked how he overcame the obstacles. internal conviction.
Australia’s Mollie O Callaghan, the reigning Olympic winner in the 200 freestyle from Paris, won the world championship again after dominating the final 50 to finish in 1:53.48. The American Claire Weinstein won bronze in 1:54.57, while Lin Bingjie of China took silver in 1:54.52.
After the Olympic triumph, O Callaghan has struggled to recover from the stress and disappointment of the post-game.
O Callaghan remarked, “Dean (Boxall) has been an incredible coach to help me get through this challenging time.” Many people find it difficult to return after the Olympics.
Before coming to Singapore, Weinstein and several other Americans had to cope with what team officials refer to as picked up at a training camp in Thailand.
A lost name or a new one
The 800 free was won by Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi, who swam the third-fastest time ever, 7:36.88. German Sven Schwartz won silver in 7:39.96, while Lukas Martens, a fellow German, won bronze in 7:40.19. Three-time Olympic gold medallist American Bobby Finke finished fourth, much behind the pack in 7:46.42.
Australia’s Sam Short, who finished second in the 800 qualifying time, withdrew from the race due to what the team claimed was food poisoning.
One major surprise occurred when Chinese world record holder Pan Zhanle did not make it to the top eight for Thursday’s final in the men’s 100 freestyle semifinals. The fastest time was 46.81 for American Jack Alexy and 46.84 for David Popovici. Pan’s final time of 47.81 was significantly slower than the world record of 46.40 he achieved in Paris the previous year.
Simone Cerasuolo of Italy won the men’s 50 breaststroke in 26.54, while Qin Haiyang of China took home bronze and Kirill Prigoda, a neutral athlete, took silver.
Yu and McIntosh
Summer McIntosh of Canada achieved the best qualifying time in the women’s 200 butterfly semifinals, clocking it at 2:06.22. Chinese, reached the final eight with a swim time of 2:07.95. She had the eighth-best time.
McIntosh is aiming for five gold medals in Singapore after winning two previously.
Yu had previously placed fourth in the 200 individual medley at the championships.
The mixed 4×100 medley relay was won by the Neutral Athletes in 3:37.97 in the final event. Third place went to Canada (3:40.90), followed by China (3:39.99).
After placing tenth in qualification, the United States was unable to advance to Wednesday’s final. They won the Olympic Games in Paris last year.
France and Britain also failed to make it to the final.
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