French Leon Marchand 2023 has been an unforgettable year. His highlight was the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka. There he won three individual events and set his world record in the men's 400 IM. michael phelpsStandard 15 years ago. Additionally, he had a great college season in the United States, setting numerous records and delivering spectacular performances.
Marchand certainly showed his versatility by winning the 200 butterfly, 200 IM and 400 IM at the world championships. But another, lesser-talked-about feat he achieved in 2023 is also worth noting.
At the French Championships held in Rennes in May, she won the 200m breaststroke and qualified for the World Championships. However, she withdrew from Fukuoka due to scheduling conflicts.
However, it was his time of 2:06.59 that caught everyone's attention. This performance set a new French record and became the fifth fastest performance in history. At the time, his coach was bob bowman “He hasn't shaved and is about 50% ready,” he declared of Marchand. That makes sense, since he was far from his personal best times in other events.It would have been very interesting to see him race the 200m breaststroke in Fukuoka with the newly minted world record holder Qin Haiyang He won the gold medal with a time of 2:05.48, just over a second faster than Marchand.
In any case, Marchand's accomplishment was remarkable in itself. In the end, he finished 2023 in third place in the world behind Qin and Australia. Zack Stablety Cook. He also ranked first in the world in the 200 fly. It is extremely rare in the swimming world to achieve such good results in the breaststroke and butterfly events. This is puzzling to some extent since these two of her swimming styles are highly restricted from the start. The butterfly evolved from her efforts to swim the breaststroke faster in the 1930s.
very rare feat
To give you an idea of how rare the breaststroke and fly skill set is, no swimmer in Olympic history has won a medal in the breaststroke and butterfly events. In fact, she is the only swimmer to reach the finals in both strokes. mary searsbronze medalist in the women's 100m fly in 1956 and seventh place in the 200m breast.
At the 1978 World Championships, legendary athletes Tracy Caulkins He was one of the most versatile swimmers in history, winning gold in the 200m fly and bronze in the 100m chest.A fellow American was the only swimmer to win medals in the breaststroke and butterfly events at the World Championships. Lin Corellawon bronze medals in both the 200m breast and 200m fly in 1978.
In fact, since the 1970s, Caulkins is the only swimmer in the world rankings to match Marchand in breaststroke and butterfly. She broke her world record in 1978 when she became the world's fastest athlete in the 200 meter fly, and in 1981 she finished the year as her second fastest athlete in the 200 meter fly. No wonder. She is the only swimmer in history to hold an American record in every stroke.
Top 10 ranked swimmers in the world in both breaststroke and butterfly since the 1970s (distance meters) – Best rankings for each swimmer:
| swimmer | Breaststroke | butterfly |
| Tracy Caulkins (USA) | 2nd place (200 Breasts, 1981) | 1st place (200 fly, 1978) |
| Leon Marchand (France) | 3rd place (200 breasts, 2023) | 1st place (200 flights, 2023) |
| Lin Corella (USA) | 3rd place (200 Breasts, 1973) | 3rd place (200 fly, 1973) |
| michael andrew (united states of america) | 3rd place (100 breasts, 2021) | 3rd place (50 fly, 2018) |
| kate douglas (united states of america) | 3rd place (200 breasts, 2022) | 4th place (100 fly, 2023) |
| Christine Quance-Julian (USA) | 5th place (200 breasts, 1991) | 2nd place (200 fly, 1997) |
| Siobhan-Marie O'Connor (GBR) | 7 hours (100 Breasts, 2016) | 9th place (100 fly, 2014) |
michael andrewA specialist in sprint events, he also ranks very highly in both styles. He was ranked 3rd in the world in the 100m breast in 2021 and 3rd in the world in the 50m fly in 2023. He placed third in the 50m breast and fourth in the 50m fly in 2018. In fact, it is not uncommon for a short-distance swimmer to achieve impressive times in his two 50-meter events. This is especially true for men, as it is a sport that requires power and strength. We can take French as an example. Florent Manadou,Russian Vladimir Morozov,Ukrainian Oleg Lysogol and Russian Oleg Kostin.
kate douglas In 2022, she placed 3rd in the world in the women's 200m breast and in 2023, she placed 4th in the 100m fly. She has already improved her time in the 200m breast in 2024 and the 200m fly in 2023, so she should move up those rankings in her near future as well. :20 First time.
Another impressive record is Christine Quance-Julianwas ranked fifth in the world in the 200-meter breaststroke in 1991 and second in the world in the 200-meter fly in 1997. She is the only swimmer in history to win medals in the breaststroke and butterfly events at the Pan Pacific Championships.
However, as you can see, even in the 200-meter event, which requires a high level of skill, Marchand's results are impressive. It only rivals the work of the great Tracy Caulkins. He could have become the first man to win medals in the breaststroke and butterfly events in Fukuoka, but he simply refrained from competing due to scheduling conflicts. The two events will be contested in the same session at the Paris Olympics, but the newly revised schedule may allow him to swim both.
Will he become the first swimmer in history to reach the podium in both strokes?
