Leon Marchand is hoping a scaled-back schedule will give him a shot at taking out Ryan Lochte’s long-standing world record in the 200 meters individual medley when the world championships begin in Singapore on Sunday.
The Frenchman was the standout performer in the pool at last year’s Olympics, winning the 200 meters and 400 meters individual medley plus the 200 meters butterfly and 200 meters breaststroke in Paris, but will be swimming a reduced program over the coming eight days of competition.
Marchand will not participate in the butterfly or breaststroke events, leaving the 23-year-old better rested to potentially break Lochte’s 14-year-old record.
“I think this is a transition year for me so I wanted to have a lighter schedule than usual,” Marchand told the media on Saturday. “I wanted to focus on the 200 IM and the 400 IM and the relays with the French team.
“I’m really excited to do less than usual, just to see how far can I go, how fast can I go in the 200 IM.
“I’ve always done the 200 IM as a race before, the same as the rest, so it’ll be fun (to have) a lighter schedule.
“I’m just not used to starting on the Wednesday instead of the first day, which is good because I can finally cheer for my teammates.”
Marchand won gold in the 200 meters and 400 meters IM events at the 2022 and 2023 world championships and is the current world record holder in the longer of the medley events.
Lochte’s world record in the 200 meters individual medley has stood since July 2011, with Marchand swimming just six-hundredths of a second slower than the American’s 1 minute 54.00 second mark when he won Olympic gold last year.
“I’m excited for the Worlds. I want to be close to my (personal bests) in every single one of my races,” said Marchand.
“Of course, I want to break world records in the next few years. I don’t know when that’s going to happen. I still have a lot to do in the swimming world.”
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Excited Marchand relishing reduced schedule in pursuit of medley record
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Excited Marchand relishing reduced schedule in pursuit of medley record
- Marchand will not participate in the butterfly or breaststroke events, leaving the 23-year-old better rested to potentially break Lochte’s 14-year-old record
McIlory calls for Australian Open rescheduling in bid to lure stronger field
- The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week
Rory McIlroy, the world’s second-ranked golfer, has called on organizers of the Australian Open to reschedule the event in an effort to attract a stronger international field to the tournament in the future.
The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week and finished in a tie for 14th, eight shots behind winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
“I’ve been excited to come back down here for a while, it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open,” McIlroy said after his final round.
“This is a golf tournament that has got so much potential and I think it showed a little bit of that this week. There’s still a ways to go.
“I would love to have a few more players come down and play. But it’s hard. There’s three tournaments going on in the schedule this week.
“There needs to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff.
“Hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down and play.”
The tournament marked the end of a stellar season for the 36-year-old.
In addition to his long-awaited Masters success, McIlroy won a seventh Race to Dubai title plus the Irish Open and was a member of the European team that successfully defended the Ryder Cup in the US in September.
“I’m looking forward to a little break,” he said. “I played a pretty heavy schedule post the summer, with the Irish Open, then the Ryder Cup and then I’ve been globetrotting all over the last couple of months.”
“I’m excited to have little bit of downtime, finally reflect on everything, maybe watch a few of the tournaments back. I’ve not really let myself do that too much.”
“Looking forward to the Christmas break and put the feet up, a few glasses of wine and think back on about what an unbelievable year it’s been.”
The Northern Irishman, who completed a career grand slam this year when he won the US Masters, was one of the main draws at Royal Melbourne this week and finished in a tie for 14th, eight shots behind winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
“I’ve been excited to come back down here for a while, it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open,” McIlroy said after his final round.
“This is a golf tournament that has got so much potential and I think it showed a little bit of that this week. There’s still a ways to go.
“I would love to have a few more players come down and play. But it’s hard. There’s three tournaments going on in the schedule this week.
“There needs to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff.
“Hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down and play.”
The tournament marked the end of a stellar season for the 36-year-old.
In addition to his long-awaited Masters success, McIlroy won a seventh Race to Dubai title plus the Irish Open and was a member of the European team that successfully defended the Ryder Cup in the US in September.
“I’m looking forward to a little break,” he said. “I played a pretty heavy schedule post the summer, with the Irish Open, then the Ryder Cup and then I’ve been globetrotting all over the last couple of months.”
“I’m excited to have little bit of downtime, finally reflect on everything, maybe watch a few of the tournaments back. I’ve not really let myself do that too much.”
“Looking forward to the Christmas break and put the feet up, a few glasses of wine and think back on about what an unbelievable year it’s been.”
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