Despite Concerns Over His Fitness, Leon Marchand Surprisingly Names for France’s 13 Person Budapest Squad

Swimming sensation Leon Marchand has made waves in the swimming world with his record-breaking performances in the recent 2024 Swimming World Cup. ‘French Michael Phelps’ has made many records and earned titles in his career, and a new opportunity is ahead of him. What’s new that is coming up?

France’s 13-member team has been announced, and Marchand is there in the list with other top French swimmers. Marchand’s records, such as the 100m IM with 49.92 seconds (during the Shanghai leg of the World Cup on October 19, 2024) and the men’s 200m IM with 1:48.88 time (during the Singapore leg of the World Cup on November 1, 2024), make it interesting to see his new achievement in the pool. His surprised selection due to many reasons has set all eyes on him, hinting that future plans might include even more surprises.

Leon Marchand: From breaking records to a surprising comeback

As a French swimmer, Marchand was himself not sure about making his career in swimming. When he was a child, he tried judo, then rugby, but maybe it was destined. Marchand felt at ease in the water and never looked back. Despite having a family history of swimmers from his parents to extended family, he was never pushed into it. And now, that small kid is writing history in the swimming world with four gold out of five medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After a hectic schedule at the Olympics later in the Swimming World Cup 2024, when Marchand announced to be on rest, fans were not ready for this comeback. Everyone is shocked yet excited to see him in the pool again. Marchand is listed in France’s 13-person Budapest squad with Maxime Grousset and Beryl Gastaldello for the World Short Course Championships.

All 13 swimmers will travel to the Hungarian capital between 10 and 15 December for the six-day meet at the Duna Arena. The inclusion seems surprising because Marchand didn’t even take part in the French trials that happened in Montpellier. With coach Castel backing them, the team will shine and do wonders. The team has eight men, including Marchand, and five women; all are better than one another. The upcoming championships will mark a new addition of a 25-meter pool; morning sessions will be dedicated to heats, whereas semi-finals and finals are scheduled for evening sessions.

The list of records broken by Leon Marchand is long; a few of them are five golds at the World Championships and one gold in the same championship in a Long Course. Bronze at the European Junior Championship and World Junior Championship were medals he won in different techniques like 200 m medley, 400 m medley, 200 m butterfly, and 200 m backstroke, and he also broke the 12-year-old short course record previously set by Ryan Lochte. He has done it all, and the road to Budapest will help him reach new heights with a health challenge in front of the French star.

Marchand’s road to Budapest amid health concern

Leon Marchand’s medal count continues to grow with each championship or tournament. Be it a stunning performance in the World Cup or any other championship, he has achieved a lot at this young age. At just 22, he is doing what others may only dream of. His road to Budapest will not be as easy as people think, but he will surpass all the hurdles on his way.

One of the challenging yet exciting things is that Marchand has been trained under the legendary Michael Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman, but now Nicolas Castel will help him train for the 2024 World Short-Course Championships. It would be interesting to see how Marchand will adopt new strategies or techniques and win another championship with no less than gold. Moreover, Marchand even didn’t take part in the recent French trials that happened in Montpellier. This also raises concern about his health among fans, and due to this, the swimming world is more excited to see Marchand’s performance in the short-course championship.

Fans also showed concern about Marchand’s health during the Swimming World Cup 2024, making many of the fans point out and comment, “Man, it is such an amazing thing to see Leon Marchand in action, but am I the only one who thinks he looked slow and tired today?” There was something unusual in him, as even after winning the medal, he seemed slow, and the break before the World Cup might be the reason for the fatigue, as the fandom responded.

Fans are eagerly waiting for him to enter the pool and create history amid health concerns. Will Leon Marchand become king of the short course in the upcoming championship, and what all he has on his list, only time will tell.