French swimmer Leon Marchand will skip the 2022 European Aquatics Championships after winning two World Championships last week in Budapest.
The 20-year old Marchand said in an interview with France TV on Sunday that he would skip the European meet in order to both take a break and because of his academic calendar at Arizona State.
Marchand will begin his second season at Arizona State University this fall, where classes begin on August 18. The European Championships run from August 11-21 in Rome, Italy.
Last season, Marchand won the NCAA title in the 200 yard IM in 1:37.69, the fastest time in history, and also won the 200 yard breast (1:48.20) and placed 2nd in the 400 yard IM (3:34.08).
He says that he hasn’t taken a break in two-and-a-half years, and that he knows he needs a good break in order to fully recover and come back stronger.
“I don’t want to make the same mistake as before.”
Marchand plans to train for three-to-four weeks in France before heading back to Arizona.
Marchand won both the 200 meter IM (1:55.22) and 400 meter IM (4:04.28) at last week’s World Championships. 2022 was the third-straight championship where the same swimmer won both men’s IM races (Chase Kalisz 2017, Daiya Seto 2019).
Marchand also added an individual silver medal in the 200 fly (1:53.37).
Marchand is just the 2nd French man in history to win a long course Worlds medal in an individual medley race. The first was his father, Xavier Marchand, who won silver in the 200 IM at the 1998 World Championships.
See the full clip of the interview here, in French:
#natation @swimswamnews @fina1908 #swimming @RowdyGaines https://t.co/fFiOHOTgcx
— Alexandre Boyon (@boyonalexandre) June 26, 2022
Taking the next round juice
We don’t get to see marchand vs Scott
OK.His superb underwater skills are best utilized in the 25-yard pool.
His career began at the NCAA.
We look forward to seeing him back in the NCAA again, Marchand!
He made the Olympic final in 2020 before starting an NCAA career
I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t participate in the Doha Worlds in January 2024 either: he seems to set his priorities with his medium/long term goals in mind.
Euro will be a good indicator of what the French team is worth without his leader.
I can see a lot of nations giving Doha a miss. Even in 18 months January isn’t likely to be a great time for covid, plus who needs a worlds and an Olympics in one year (apart from me watching)?
Or sending Juniors
Kind of hope he pops in at nationals with a month rest and some light training and just pops off 🙂
The Chad “I’m going back to school” Leon vs The Virgin “I’m going pro” Matt
Very surprised he doesn’t want another crack at that 400IM WR… but deserved nonetheless.
Having another WC the next year and being that much young he doesnt need to rush things. If everything goes right he will have many other chances
I’m a fan