Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based swimmer who has proven themselves over the past month. As with any item of recognition, Swimmer of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one athlete whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a swimmer who was visibly outperforming other swimmers over the month, or one whose accomplishments slipped through the cracks among other high-profile swims. If your favorite athlete wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Leon Marchand made history nearly every time he hit the water at the 2023 Men’s NCAA Division I Championships, earning him Ultra Swimmer of the Month honors for March.
The Arizona State sophomore’s month of competition actually began at the Pac-12 Championships, with the men’s competition marking the lone Power Five conference meet to take place in March.
Marchand had a historic performance there, setting new NCAA and U.S. Open Records in the 200 breaststroke (1:47.67) and 400 IM (3:31.57) while nearing his all-time mark of 1:37.69 in the 200 IM, clocking 1:37.81 to go three-for-three in individual wins.
The 20-year-old Frenchman also produced some blistering splits to lead the Sun Devils to victory in three of the four relays in which he competed, splitting 22.98 and 49.73 on breast in the 200 and 400 medley relays while leading off in 41.61 and 1:30.77 in the 400 and 800 free relays.
Those performances helped guide the Sun Devils to their first Men’s Pac-12 swimming and diving title in program history.
Just three weeks later, Marchand set the bar even higher at the NCAA Championships. He smashed his NCAA and U.S. Open Records en route to wins in the 200 breast (1:46.91), 200 IM (1:36.34) and 400 IM (3:28.82), and added the fastest swims of all-time with a relay exchange in the 50 breast (22.27), 100 breast (49.23) and 200 free (1:28.42) while adding a scintillating 40.55 100 free leg.
Those performances helped ASU finish in the top three of all four relays Marchand was on, and the team made history by earning their highest-ever finish at NCAAs, placing second to the Cal Golden Bears.
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