The 22-year-old Olympian has broken records, including taking home Frances's first swimming Gold medal in 12 years.

If you're looking for a new Olympic obsession, might we suggest French swimmer L&eacute;on Marchand? Not only has he broken several world records and snatched this year's gold medal for the 400m individual medley, but many are comparing him to a young Micheal Phelps.&nbsp;
Born in Toulouse, France, in 2002, Marchand had a path set. His parents, Xavier Marchand and C&eacute;line Bonnet, were both professional swimmers who instilled a drive and passion in the young L&eacute;on. In August of 2019, at the age of 17, Marchand's career shot into motion when he won his first medal at the&nbsp;World Junior Swimming Championship&nbsp;in&nbsp;Budapest,&nbsp;Hungary. Marchand took home the bronze in the 400-meter individual medley and set a French record with a time of 4:16.37.
At the Atlanta NCAA Division I Championships in 2022, Marchand won his first individual title for the&nbsp;Arizona State Sun Devils, winning not only the event but setting new NCAA,&nbsp;NCAA Championships, and&nbsp;US Open records with his time of 1:37.69.He overtook Olympic gold medalist <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/men/caeleb-dressel-champion-olympic-swimmer-omega" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caeleb Dressel</a>'s 2018 time by almost a full second. It marked the first time since the year 2000 that Arizona State University won an individual title in swimming at an NCAA Division I championship.
Since his record-breaking run at the NCAA Division I Championships, Marchand has won five world championship gold medals, leading to the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/celebrities-paris-olympics-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 Paris Olympic Games</a>. This past week, Marchand won his first Olympic gold medal by swimming 4:02.95 during the individual medley program, breaking Michael Phelps&rsquo; Olympic record set 16 years ago in Beijing. Since his win and meteoric rise, many have compared the French swimmer to Phelps.
Recently, Phelps responded to these comparisons, telling commentator <a href="https://x.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1818326792735731964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1818327245007818882%7Ctwgr%5Ed846a887fa1cd5fccd6ca5b4c833bf2d3e248702%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Folympics%2Fmichael-phelps-classy-response-to-leon-marchand-breaking-his-olympic-record" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pat McAfee</a>, "I love it. I love being able to see a young man have a dream, go out there, put in the work!" Marchand also trained with Phelps's former coach, Bob Bowman, who helped Phelps achieve 28 Olympic medals.&nbsp;

Léon Marchand. Getty Images.

Léon Marchand at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Getty Images.

Léon Marchand Is Your New Favorite French Swimmer

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