Sanjana B, Pune
22-year-old French Swimmer Leon Marchand broke the world record for men’s swimming championships on Sunday. The record, previously held by American star Michael Phelps, was broken in 4 minutes and 2.5 seconds.
Phelps had previously held a world record for completing the 400-meter individual medley (IM) in a time of four minutes, and 3 seconds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In an Individual Medley of 400 m, a swimmer is supposed to swim 100 m with four strokes in order – Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle.
Marchand, a student at America’s Arizona State University, broke the record to win gold on the first day of the 8-day World Aquatics Championships. The competition was held in Fukuoka, Southwest Japan. The French star is likely to also compete in next year’s Paris Olympics.
Speaking to ESPN, the college athlete said, “I think I can handle the pressure pretty well right now. It’s not perfect and I have one year to improve.”
This was the last individual world record held by Phelps, who sought retirement after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. However, he still holds world records in five different races, including the 4×200 and 4×100 freestyle relays.
Marchand was followed by American silver medalist Carson Foster who completed the 400-meter IM at 8 minutes 3.1 seconds and Japanese bronze medalist Daiya Seto at almost 11 minutes.
On the other hand, Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus set a world record in the women’s 400m freestyle. She completed her laps in 3 minutes and 55 seconds.