World Championships, Day Eight Finals: Leon Marchand Collects Third Title in 400 IM; Pops No. 5 Fastest-Time in History
When the initial entries for the World Championships were released, Leon Marchand appeared set to duplicate his four-event program from last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. At a home Olympics, the Frenchman was nothing short of spectacular, securing gold medals in the 200-meter breaststroke, 200 butterfly and both individual medley events.
But as Worlds crept closer to their start, Marchand announced that he would focus on the 200 IM and 400 IM, interested in what he could produce in the multi-stroke events with a fresh body. The decision ultimately proved beneficial, as Marchand shredded the world record in the 200 medley in the semifinals, then followed up by winning gold in the No. 2 performance in history.
On the final day of competition, Marchand destroyed the field in the 400 individual medley, packaging a performance of 4:04.73 to record the fifth-fastest effort of all-time. Marchand finished comfortably ahead of Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita, who backed up his Olympic silver medal with another runnerup outing, going 4:08.32. The bronze medal went to Russian Ilia Borodin in 4:09.16.
The world title was Marchand’s third in the event, which matches Japan’s Daiya Seto (2013/2015/2019) for the most of all-time. Marchand’s previous gold medals in the 400 IM arrived in 2022 and 2023, the second of those crowns earned in a world-record time of 4:02.50. Marchand owns four of the five-fastest times ever.
Marchand followed the 400 IM by swimming the breaststroke leg on France’s 400 medley relay, which earned the silver medal. It was not an easy double to handle.
“Physically, it was really tough,” Marchand said. “I felt heavy in the water, especially at the bottom without fins. But I kept going and gave everything I had, because I really wanted to connect with my body. Afterward, it was hard to recover in just 30 minutes. But given what was at stake, I was determined to perform well in the relay with the team. In the end, I recovered well. I came out of it okay. Actually, I even feel kind of lifted by the whole experience.”
What type of endurance Marchand would display this summer was a question mark on the way to the World Champs. After his Olympic excellence, the 23-year-old took a well-deserved break in the fall, and then returned to training in early 2025, including a stretch in Australia with coach Dean Boxall. Upon returning to his training base in Austin, under the guidance of Bob Bowman, Marchand gradually returned to form over the course of several tuneup competitions.
In the final, Marchand immediately opened a lead that he rode to a wire-to-wire triumph. Marchand covered the butterfly leg in 54.92 and went through the midway point of the race in 1:57.64, which was nearly three seconds clear of Matsushita. The Frenchman touched at the 300-meter turn in 3:06.39 and he closed with a freestyle split of 58.34.
Next year, there won’t be a global championships. For Marchand, the target will be the European Championships and taking the next step toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“So now it’s time to train,” Marchand said. “(The 400 IM) was still a great race. During the breaststroke leg, I don’t know what happened — my legs just gave out all of a sudden. It was really hard, but I managed to hang on from start to finish. I didn’t look too much at the others. At the Olympics, I usually try to control what’s happening around me because I want to be Olympic champion… but this time, it felt like a different kind of race.
“Today was proof that I made the right choices and that I’m doing what I love. I didn’t necessarily need that confirmation—I already knew it—but it always feels good to be on the top step of the podium, to hear the national anthem, and to reflect on everything that’s happened this year.”
While several teenage stars are rising through the ranks, Matsushita has taken over the rich legacy of the 400 IM for Japan. His second straight silver medal on the global stage came comfortably, but Matsushita was actually disappointed with his performance. He expected to challenge Marchand for gold and wanted to lower the national record of 4:06.05, set at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“Last year’s silver was a happy one, but this time, the feeling of frustration welled up right after the race,” Matsushita said. “I think that’s because I set higher goals for myself over the past year. In that sense, I feel that I’ve grown as an athlete…After swimming the heats, I felt that I was close enough to win, so that makes it all the more frustrating. To be honest, the path to LA28 had seemed long and distant, but now I feel more confident.”
