European Male Swimmer of the Year: Leon Marchand

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The male European swimmers dominated the Olympic Games in Paris. Through four days of competition they had won gold in every individual event, and the only event they had not won was the 4×100 freestyle relay on the opening day of competition.

But Leon Marchand this Swammy rose above the rest of his competition and put on an incredible show over eight days while winning four individual Olympic gold medals in front of his home crowd.

Since it's broken Michael Phelps 400 IM world record at the 2023 World Championships, Marchand was announced as the face of the Games for host nation France. It was a unique push for Marchand ahead of his second Olympics and a dramatic increase in attention since Marchand broke out internationally in 2022.

The 22-year-old answered the pressure in style. His first event at the Games was the 400 IM on the second day, where he earned the first Olympic medal of his career gold, hitting the wall in 4:02.95, breaking Phelps' 2008 Olympic record. The cheers for Marchand extended beyond the arena; Across Paris, at the table tennis venue, the crowd also burst into song for Marchand.

It was the first of many medals for Marchand. On the fifth day of the Games, he completed his dirty double, winning gold in the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke, both in Olympic record time. In the 200 meters, Marchand made a comeback in the last 50 meters, moving over the top of world record holder and defending Olympic champion. Kristof Milak. He clocked a time of 1:51.21, becoming the second fastest swimmer in history.

Just over an hour later he was back in action in the 200 breaststroke, a race he led from start to finish. His 2:05.85 was an Olympic record as well as a European record, and his swimming made him the first swimmer to win twice gold in the same session since Cornelia Ender in 1976. Marchand completed his individual events with the 200 IM, where he stormed to victory in 1:54.06 for his fourth Olympic record of the meet. He was only six hundredths off Ryan Lochtes world record.

The crowd's cheers for Marchand had grown louder with each race as Marchand Madness captured the attention of the city fans, even inserting his name into La Marseillaise every time the national anthem played for Marchand. Fans had one last chance to cheer on Marchand and the French swimmers on the final day Yohann Ndoye-BrouardMarchand, Maxime Grousset, And Florent Manaudou won bronze in the men's 4×100 medley relay with a national record of 3:28.38.

There were high expectations for Marchand's arrival at the Games, but he delivered: he delivered an Olympic performance for the history books and set the streets of Paris on fire.

Honorable mentions:

• Daniel WiffenIreland: Mona McSharry got the ball rolling for Ireland on the third day of the competition, winning Ireland's first medal since 1996 with bronze in the women's 100 breaststroke. Daniel Wiffen kept Ireland's momentum going the next day, taking gold in the men's 800 freestyle. Wiffen stopped an attack Bobby Finke and touched in 7:38.19, setting European and Olympic records for the fifth fastest swim in history. Swimming made him the first Irishman to win a medal in the pool and the country's first gold medalist since 1996. He climbed onto the podium again in the 1500 freestyle, swimming 14:39.63 for bronze. Earlier this year, Wiffen won double gold in the 800/1500 freestyle at the 2024 World Championships.
• Kristof MilakHungary: There was all the pressure in the world on Marchand before the Games started, but few knew what to expect from Milak. The Hungarian Olympic champion and world record holder had a bumpy run-up to the Olympics and it was difficult to say what form he would bring to Paris. Milak couldn't stop the momentum Marchand had built for himself. He took silver in his signature event, the 200 butterfly, clocking 1:51.75. It was certainly disappointing not to top the Olympic podium again, but Milak bounced back. The men's 100 butterfly was a stacked final, and he delivered, moving from fourth on the turn to first in 49.90, putting him under 50 seconds for the second time in his career. It is the second Olympic gold of Milak's career and a step up on the podium for him after taking silver in Tokyo.
• David PopovichRomania: David Popovich was at the top of the swimming world in 2022, but had a difficult year on the international stage in 2023, missing out on medals in his signature events, the 100 and 200 freestyle, where he set the world record (100 free) and the world record for juniors (200 free) the year before. Popovici was still a teenager when he arrived in Paris for his second Olympics and was dealing with his version of the expectations and uncertainty swirling around both Marchand and Milak. Popovici took on the challenge of the loaded 100 and 200 free battlefields. The 200 freestyle was up first and he triumphed in one of the tightest races of the Games, making his first Olympic medal a gold medal in 1:44.72, winning Matt Richards by two hundredths. He was also on the podium again in the 100 freestyle. While Pan Zhanle raced away for gold, second through fourth places separated by two-hundredths. Once again Popovici had his hand on the wall for a medal and took bronze in 47.49.