Leon Marchand Crushes Ryan Lochte’s 200 IM World Record In Blazing 1:48.88

2024 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – SINGAPORE

After rewriting the record books in short course yards and breaking one of the most vaunted world records in long course meters, Leon Marchand took hold of his first short course meter world record on Friday at the Singapore World Cup.

Marchand not only broke, but obliterated Ryan Lochte‘s 12-year-old world record in the 200 IM, clocking in with a time of 1:48.88 to knock three-quarters of a second off Lochte’s previous mark of 1:49.63.

Lochte set that world record at the 2012 Short Course World Championships, which made it the third-oldest male SCM world record on the books.

Marchand also lowered the European and French Records of 1:50.30 he set two weeks ago during the opening leg of the World Cup in Shanghai.

Relative to both Lochte and his swim in Shanghai, Marchand made the biggest inroads on Friday over the middle 100 meters, splitting a blistering 26.66 on back and 31.18 on breast. Even Lochte, the 2008 Olympic champion in the 200 back, didn’t split sub-27 on the backstroke leg of his race.

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Lochte was previously the only swimmer in history to break 1:50, and now Marchand joins him, skipping right over the 1:49s into 1:48 territory in the process.

All-Time Performers, Men’s 200 IM (SCM)

1. Leon Marchand (FRA), 1:48.88 – 2024
2. Ryan Lochte (USA), 1:49.63 – 2012
3. Matt Sates (RSA), 1:50.15 – 2022
4. Shain Casas (USA), 1:50.37 – 2022
5. Kosuke Hagino (JPN), 1:50.47 – 2024

The 22-year-old Marchand had come agonizingly close to breaking Lochte’s world record in the LCM 200 IM this past summer at the Olympics in Paris, clocking 1:54.06 en route to gold while falling just shy of Lochte’s 2011 mark of 1:54.00.

The other record Marchand owns in meters is the LCM 400 IM record, which took off the hands of Michael Phelps last summer at the 2023 World Championships.

Marchand is also the fastest swimmer in history in the 200 IM in the short course yards pool, having produced a time of 1:36.34 at the 2023 NCAA Championships.

In winning the event in Singapore, Marchand completed the Triple Crown in the 200 IM, having swept it at all three legs of the series. He did the same in the 100 IM on Thursday, and will look to finish off the triple medley sweep on Saturday in the 400 IM.

Great Britain’s Duncan Scott was the runner-up to Marchand in a time of 1:51.14, falling just short of his British Record of 1:50.98 set last year.

In addition to the 400 IM, Marchand is also entered in the 200 free and 200 breast on the final day of racing in Singapore, so it’s possible he’s in the field in one of those races. He raced the 200 breast in Shanghai, placing 4th in a time of 2:02.99.