'Take it in': French crowd goes bonkers as Leon Marchand knocks off final Michael Phelps Olympic record
Winning gold in front of a home crowd at the Olympics is an achievement many athletes dream of.
But for Leon Marchand, the hopeful dream became an electrifying reality that seems impossible to explain.
The 22-year-old did not disappoint at La Defense Arena on Monday (AEST) when he touched in first with a time of 4:02:95 to break the Olympic record and take home the gold medal in the 400m individual medley.
READ MORE: Controversy, VAR, 11 goals and a 90th minute Matildas winner
READ MORE: Brutal crash sends local hope to hospital
READ MORE: Aussie rider dismounts as cruel injury halts medal charge
"Take it in Leon Marchand," Nine's Ian Thorpe said as 15,000 fans erupted in the stadium.
Marchand soaks in the atmosphere. AP
The time saw all-time great Michael Phelps name knocked off his last standing Olympic time record, but the Frenchman fell just short of his own world record which he set in 2023.
Cheers echoed from roughly 13 minutes prior to the race commencing, with fans heard chanting "Leon, Leon, Leon".
"The atmosphere was amazing, I don't know how to explain it," Marchand said after the race.
"I had goosebumps before, and during the race too. On the breaststroke section I could hear everyone just cheering for me.
"That was special and winning today was really amazing for me."
Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.
The intense battle for the medals in the discipline was between Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita and American Carson Foster, with the latter taking home the bronze medal.
Marchand's heavy swim program for the Games saw organisers expand the sports duration from eight to nine days to ensure he is provided with enough rest between events.
The young gun moved to America following the Tokyo Olympics to train under Phelps' former coach Bob Bowman.
"He is trained by someone who coached (the man who) is now the greatest athlete of all time. Bob Bowman coached a little known swimmer called Michael Phelps," Cate Campbell said on Nine's Today.
Leon Marchand competes in the men's 400-meter individual medley final. AP
"Leon has obviously taken hold of all of Bob's experience over the years and has been able to put together an incredible race."
Bowman coached the US Olympic team during Phelps' reign before ending his time with the outfit following Rio in 2016.
The 59-year-old was named as coach for the French swim team in Paris.
Bowman defended his decision to join the French swim team prior to the Games, stating Team France does not have concerns with him coaching his athletes representing rival nations, unlike the US.
"In Australia, it's actually quite common for our coaches to work with international athletes, but it's probably less common in in the USA," Campbell said.
"They sometimes have international athletes come into their college program, (but) for Bob Bowman to sit on the French national team as part of their coaching staff is rare. You don't see that very often."
Leon Marchand (C) with silver medalist Tomoyuki Matsushita (L) and bronze medalist Carson Foster. AP
Campbell described the similarities between Phelps' technique and Marchand, declaring the Frenchman's physique is exactly "how you would design a swimmer."
"If you are going to design a swimmer, he's actually very physically quite similar to Michael Phelps," she said.
"You want them kind of quite lean, flexible and you can see his flexibility when he's under water. You can see how wide his arm span is. His arm span is probably wider than he is tall.
"All of those things was Michael Phelps's prototype. We're seeing it here in this incredible swimmer.
"With swimming and sport it's all about timing. When you are on form and that just so happens to coincide with an Olympic Games you make the absolute most of it.
"Make gold while your body in is in good form. You don't know what's going to happen just down the road. There's just a shoulder injury waiting to happen and it's all over.
"We are able now to access things with sports science and we are constantly gaining knowledge which we weren't able to access in the past, so I wonder if that's played a role [in his performance] or if he's just one of these super humans."
