World Championships: Longhorn Aquatics Trio Pushed Each Other to Podium Sweep in 200 IM
National sweeps of the podium at global competitions are long-ago occurrences, due to the sport’s decision to move away from the three-athlete-per-country allowance in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rules limiting countries to a maximum of two swimmers per event were instituted ahead of the 1978 World Championships and enacted for the Olympics after the 1980 Games in Moscow.
However, another type of sweep was on display during the fifth night of action at the World Championships in Singapore.
When Leon Marchand captured the gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley, he led a gold-silver-bronze run by Longhorn Aquatics, which trains at the University of Texas under the watch of Hall of Fame coach Bob Bowman. After France’s Marchand touched the wall in 1:53.68, American Shaine Casas earned silver in 1:54.30, with Hungarian Hubert Kos taking bronze in 1:55.34.
Another member of the Longhorn contingent, Carson Foster also qualified for the final as the eighth seed, but the American opted to scratch the final. Foster still has the 800 freestyle relay and 400 individual medley remaining on his program.
“Tonight was very special for me,” said Marchand, who set a world record of 1:52.69 in the semifinals. “I mean, the podium is basically Bob Bowman’s team. That’s pretty special. I’m so happy to race those guys at their best level. It’s been great to race here.”
Through the years, there have been instances of training partners elevating one another in the pursuit of excellence. On the way to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin battled in practice, and eventually shared the gold medal in the 50 freestyle. Poland’s Bart Kizierowski was also part of that training regime and finished fifth in the final of the 50 free in Sydney.
In other instances, athletes have had to be split up, a shared training environment simply not the right atmosphere. That scenario was notably encountered by Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres, who legendary coach Richard Quick trained separately in 2000 when practices became too intense.
It’s obvious the Longhorn setup is paying dividends. Between the semifinals and final, Marchand produced the two-fastest times in the history of the 200 IM, while Casas vaulted to the No. 4 performer of all-time. As for Kos, the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 backstroke, he nearly broke Laszlo Cseh’s 16-year-old Hungarian record.
At the finish, there was camaraderie in the pool, with the training mates gathering to bask in their achievement. Their sweep was again celebrated during the medals ceremony.
“Those guys are my teammates,” Casas said. “So there was not really this feeling of envy or any frustration, or any ill feelings toward each other. I was hoping they would swim well, and I’m sure they were hoping I would swim well. You could change out in any order, any of us Texas guys, and I’d probably be OK with that.”
The teammates might not be done seeing one another in the water. Casas and Kos are each entered in the 100 butterfly and 50 backstroke, while Marchand and Foster are slated to race the 400 individual medley on the final day of the meet.
“It’s hard not to medal if you’re in a training group like what we have,” Kos said.
