Marchand Hits Second-Fastest 200 IM In History With 1:37.81 Pac-12 Title

2023 MEN’S PAC-12 SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 1- Saturday, March 5, 2023
• Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center – Federal Way, WA
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Defending Champions: Cal (5x)
• Championship Central
• Event Schedule
• Diving Results
• Live Stream
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• Fan Guide
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• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

During the second night of finals at the 2023 men’s Pac-12 Championships, Leon Marchand swam a 1:37.81 for gold in the 200 IM. That time was a new meet record in the event and is the second-fastest swim in the history of the event. Marchand holds the #1 time and NCAA record in the 200 IM at a 1:37.69 from his gold medal swim at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Marchand broke Caeleb Dressel‘s NCAA and US Open records in the 200 IM last year, undercutting Dressel’s 1:38.13 from 2018. Marchand was and still is the only person to ever crack 1:38 in this event and now he’s done it twice. Hugo Gonzalez swam a new best time of 1:38.72 to take silver, giving him the 7th-fastest swim in history.

All-time Rankings – Men’s 200 IM

1. Leon Marchand – 1:37.69 (2022)
2. Leon Marchand – 1:37.81 (2023)
3. Caeleb Dressel – 1:38.13 (2018)
4. Andrew Seliskar – 1:38.14 (2019)
5. Destin Lasco – 1:38.21 (2022)
6. Destin Lasco – 1:38.71 (2022)
7. Hugo Gonzalez – 1:38.72 (2023)
8. Leon Marchand – 1:38.83 (2022)

Marchand’s splits on the first two 50s of his top two swims are nearly identical, while he was slightly faster on the breaststroke leg in 2023 and slightly slower on the freestyle leg.

Split Comparison:

In addition to being the fastest 200 IMer in NCAA history, Leon Marchand is the fastest-ever 400 IMer in American college swimming history. After placing second in the event at his debut NCAAs in 2022, Marchand lowered the NCAA record to a 3:31.84 during a Cal vs. ASU dual meet in January 2023. That time makes him the top seed in the 400 IM at Pac-12s by over 10 seconds.