By Ariwodo praise izuchukwu
France’s Leon Marchand won a sensational fourth Olympic gold in the Paris pool, beating Duncan Scott into second place, moments after Ben Proud also won a superb silver for Team GB.
With French President Emmanuel Macron in the crowd, home superstar Marchand led from the start of the 200m medley to cap a sensational week for the 22-year-old.
He emerged from the pool to an almighty roar, having become the first swimmer since US legend Michael Phelps to win four individual golds at one Games.
Scott, 27, was second behind the Frenchman – just as he was at last year’s World Championships – and took silver for the sixth time in his career, and an eighth Olympic medal overall. Britain’s Tom Dean was fifth.
Earlier, fellow Englishman Proud ended his long wait for an Olympic medal by claiming silver in the 50m freestyle.
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Léon Marchand won his fourth gold medal, swimming away with the 200-meter individual medley in Olympic -record time to the delight of a delirious French crowd.
His time of 1:54.06 bested the previous mark set by Michael Phelps, who covered the course in 1:54.23 in Beijing
The 22-year-old Arizona State product won the 200 butterfly and breast on Wednesday after 400 IM triumph on Sunday.
He’d have another medal shot on Saturday in the 4×100 medley relay, but his fate would be more in the hands of three teammates and not just himself.
Meanwhile, this move is Marchand’s trademark. In this race, the five-time world champion and 400 m medley record-holder finished six seconds ahead of his second- and third-place rivals, thanks to his underwater swimming. In this video, Le Monde explains the science behind underwater swimming, as well as the other elements behind the Olympian’s success, with Amandine Aftalion, mathematician and CNRS research director. She is also the author of the book Be a Champion: 40 Facts You Didn’t Know About Sports and Science.
