Leon Marchand Takes World Juniors 4IM Bronze In New French National Record

7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships 2019

• 50-Meter Course
• Duna Arena, Budapest (Hungary)
• Pool swimming: Tuesday, August 20 – Sunday, August 25, 2019
• Heats 9:30am GMT+2 (3:30 am EDT / 12:30 am PDT)/ Semifinals and Finals 5:30pm GMT+2 (11:30am EDT / 8:30am PDT)
• Meet site
• Entries book
• FinaTV Live Stream (subscription required)
• Live results

17-year-old Leon Marchand earned bronze in the men’s 400m IM while competing at the 2019 World Junior Championships, hitting a new senior French National Record in the process.

Tonight in Budapest, Marchand fired off a speedy time of 4:16.37 to finish 3rd behind winner Apostolos Papastamos of Greece and Ilia Borodin of Russia, who finished in times of 4:11.93 and 4:12.95, respectively.

For Papastamos, the 2019 European Junior Champion in both the 200m IM and 400m IM clocked a new World Junior Record with his sub-4:12 mark tonight, overtaking American Carson Foster‘s former WJR of 4:13.39 set at U.S. Nationals. Foster wound up 6th tonight in 4:17.39.

Marchand chipped away at this men’s 400m IM swim tonight, showing his breaststroke prowess with how it unfolded. The French teen was 3rd out of the fly and was busted down to 6th after the backstroke leg. But, Marchand made up ground over the back half to get the edge for bronze over American Jacon Louser, who touched just .29 behind in 4:19.66.

Entering these Championships, Marchand’s previous personal best and French Age Record for 17-year-olds rested at the 4:17.22 he clocked en route to bronze in Kazan at this year’s European Junior Championships. As such, Marchand dropped almost a full second between that swim and tonight’s, landing him on the podium on the penultimate night of these World Junior Championships.

His time not only overtakes his own previous Age Record, but it also now makes Marchand the senior French Record holder, knocking down a supersuited mark of 4:16.97 set by Anthony Pannier way back at the 2009 French Championships.

Splits from Marchand’s previous PB/Age Record:

Splits from Marchand’s new PB/French National Record: