2024 Olympic Previews: Clash Of The Leon Marchand & Wang Shun 200 IM Titans

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
  • Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
• La Défense Arena – Paris, France
• LCM (50 meters)
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• Full Schedule
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BY THE NUMBERS: MEN’S 200 IM

• World Record: 1:54.00 – Ryan Lochte, USA (2011)
• World Junior Record: 1:56.99 – Hubert Kos, Hungary (2021)
• Olympic Record: 1:54.23 – Michael Phelps, USA (2008)
• 2021 Olympic Champion: 1:55.00 – Wang Shun, China

The Proven Champion

The 2024 Olympics will see the past 3 world champions and reigning Olympic champion among the men’s 200m IM field. That means the best of the best in recent history will need to bring their A-game to land on the podium when all is said and done in Paris.

Wang Shun (photo: Jack Spitser)

China’s Wang Shun is the top-seeded swimmer entering the Games, carrying one of only two sub-1:55 times of the pack.

30-year-old Wang crushed a new Asian Record of 1:54.62, his best-ever, en route to claiming gold at last year’s Asian Games. His performance bested the 1:55.00 it took him to win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games, rendering him the 3rd-swiftest 200m IM performer in history.

Top 5 Men’s LCM 200 IM Performers All-Time

1. Ryan Lochte (USA) – 1:54.00, 2011
2. Michael Phelps (USA) – 1:54.16, 2011
3. Wang Shun (CHN) – 1:54.62, 2023
4. Leon Marchand (FRA) – 1:54.82, 2023
5. Kosuke Hagino (JPN) – 1:55.07, 2016

After that race, Wang stated, “For me, breaking my own Asian Record is more precious than the gold itself. Age is just a number. To all those people who said, I’m done, are you done now?”

The comment was in reference to the fact that some swimming spectators wrote the veteran off after he finished just 11th at the 2023 World Championships (1:57.97).

Wang followed up that historic feat in Hangzhou with another impressive outing of 1:55.35 to win the event at April’s Chinese Olympic Trials. For perspective, that time would have taken home the bronze in Tokyo.

The 200m IM is Wang’s sole individual event which means he’s all-in to once again claim the gold as his own. He may also be wanting to prove something after having been named among the 23 Chinese swimmers who reportedly tested positive for TMZ before the 2020 Games.

The French Phenom

The other sub-1:55 contender is France’s own Leon Marchand, the 22-year-old phenom who will have the home crowd behind him.

Leon Marchand (photo: Jack Spitser)

Marchand unleashed a monster mark of 1:54.82 to establish a new European Record as he topped the 2IM podium at the 2023 World Championships. That was the same competition the former Arizona State University NCAA champion broke Olympic icon Michael Phelps’ World Record in the 400m IM.

His win in Fukuoka marked the Bob Bowman-trained superstar’s second 2IM world title, having earned the gold a year earlier in Budapest in a time of 1:55.22.

Versatile Marchand owns a season-best of 1:55.74 from Irvine this past May which puts him right in the mix among the top-tier performers this season. He was just off that showing with a result of 1:56.33 at the French Trials where he wasn’t tapered and simply needed to get to the wall first.

Marchand does not have a weak stroke, which makes him a mega-weapon when it comes to the IMs. His breast is especially dangerous, clocking a split of 32.94 on that leg of his European Record compared to 33.56 of Wang’s Asian Record performance, for example.

One important dynamic to keep in mind is that Marchand is entered in 4 individual events, with the 400m IM, 200m breast (if he keeps this one) and 200m fly all falling on days leading up to this 200m IM.

We’ve seen this Frenchman pull off some head-turning packed schedules in the past, but this 200m IM is Wang’s sole event and he may only be more fired up watching Marchand in the water and gaining momentum as each day passes.

The British Partners in Crime

Duncan Scott Tom Dean (photo: Jack Spitser)

The world saw Tom Dean and Duncan Scott of Great Britain finish 1-2 in the men’s 200m freestyle at the 2020 Tokyo Games and now they’re the nation’s hopefuls together in the 200m IM for Paris.

Scott is no stranger to the 200m IM Olympic podium, having earned silver behind Wang in Tokyo in a time of 1:55.28, a new national record that is still in place today.

27-year-old Scott, the most decorated GBR athlete at a single Olympics, earned silver behind Marchand (1:55.95) at the 2023 World Championships, with Dean right behind (1:56.07).

In 2024, although unrested, Scott raced the event at February’s World Championships and settled for 6th in 1:57.75. Two months later he clocked 1:55.91 to take the event at the Aquatics GB Olympic Trials and rank 5th in the world this season.

Dean posted a time of 1:56.44 at Trials to book his ticket to Paris in the 2IM, within half a second of that personal best from Fukuoka. He missed making the cut in the 200m free, so this race is his sole individual event at these Games, making him that much more dangerous.

Calling Carson Foster

22-year-old Carson Foster won the 200m IM at the U.S. Olympic Trials, firing off a time of 1:55.83 for the fastest of his career.

Carson Foster Shaine Casas (photo: Jack Spitser)

The Cincinnatian-turned-Texas Longhorn became the 7th-quickest American ever in the event, continuing his momentum from having earned silver at this year’s World Championships with his 1:56.97. He was quicker in Fukuoka, hitting 1:56.43 but settled for 5th that time around.

His time from Trials ranks him #2 in the world this season, ahead of Marchand, Scott and stars n’ stripes teammate Shaine Casas.

Casas also has a shot at the podium, producing a time of 1:55.83 in Indianapolis but owning a lifetime best of 1:55.24 from 2022. Casas has been known to be hot and cold during competitions so the American will need to be ‘on’ to give himself a shot at rivaling not only his teammate but the rest of the stacked field.

Not to be Discounted for Medals

• Daiya Seto (Japan) – Although he sits just 10th in the world this season, courtesy of the 1:56.87 logged at the Japanese Olympic Trials, 30-year-old Daiya Seto is on a mission. The 2016 Olympic medalist is seeking redemption from a lackluster showing at the 2020 Games in his home nation and brings a lifetime best of 1:55.55 into Paris. He carries the torch from teammate Kosuke Hagino who retired after Tokyo and has been training under storied Aussie coach Michael Bohl since last fall to potentially propel him onto the podium.
• Alberto Razzetti (Italy) – Italy’s Alberto Razzetti posted a new national record of 1:56.21 last November to put his hat in the ring for a minor medal if he can improve upon that performance in Paris. Razzetti is dangerous on the butterfly leg and may attempt a ‘fly and die’ tactic that could throw off the competition if he can hold on.
• Finlay Knox (Canada) – 23-year-old Finlay Knox of Canada busted out a new national record of 1:56.64 to upset the field and take gold in Doha this year. Then, he upped the ante by dropping that down to 1:56.07 win his nation’s Olympic Trials. Entering 2024, Knox’s lifetime best rested at the 1:57.26 notched in March of 2023, meaning he’s dropped over a second in a year’s time to stake his claim on a potential final spot and maybe more.

Other Names to Watch

There are a pile of other swimmers in the 1:56-mid to 1:57 range who are one good taper away from landing in a final or even on a podium.

• Israel’s Ron Polonsky, who trains in the US at Stanford, dropped a bunch of time at the recent European Championships in mid-June to go 1:57.01 and break the Israeli Record. His best time before that was 1:57.99 from the 2022 World Championships
• New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt has a better shot and is probably more focused on the 400 IM, but a 1:57.36 at New Zealand’s Trials in April was just-off his best time of 1:57.27 from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic prelims. Clareburt has always had a bit of a challenge in peaking in the finals at big meets, though he’s been better at that in recent seasons (including 2023 Worlds).
• The Australian entries Thomas Neill (1:57.41) and William Petric (1:57.54) are both on a big upswing in an event where the Australians have never been very good – they have no Olympic medals in the men’s 200 IM (and only a pair of bronze medals in the 400 IM). Neill, 22, swam his best time at the Queensland Championships in December; while Petrick, 19, dropped half-a-second off his best at Trials and in total has dropped 1.75 seconds in the 2024 calendar year.
• South African Matthew Sates continues to be a phenomenon. The one-time ‘it kid’ continues to struggle at big meets in long course, though two years ago he looked like he had 1:55 potential in this event. He was 8th in this event at Worlds in 2022 but wasn’t on the South Africa team in 2023.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

Dark Horse: Hugo Gonzalez (ESP) – Cal swimmer Hugo Gonzalez of Spain threw down a time of 1:56.48 at the Spanish Trials last month, a time within .17 of the 1:56.31 national record he posted during the 2021 Mare Nostrum Tour. The 25-year-old Gonzalez clocked a new Spanish record in the 200m back at Trials which points to his being on form just in time for the Games – and he’s a serious medal contender in that 200 backstroke. Although it’s likely that a sub-1:56 effort will be needed to make the podium, anything can happen in an Olympic Games and this veteran is on the right trajectory. It seems like he’s finally turning his short course success at Cal into full-blown long course quality.