NANTERRE, France — Léon Marchand held up four fingers as the crowd roared one final time for its hero of the Paris Games, one for each of the Olympic gold medals he earned this week.
The young Frenchman achieved what once seemed like an impossible dream: four Olympic gold medals in four individual Olympic events at his home Games.
AdvertisementMarchand joined Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz as the only male swimmers to win four individual gold medals in the same Games.
In Friday’s 200-meter individual medley final, Marchand touched the wall 1:54.06 to earn gold and complete his golden sweep, cementing a legacy in France.
Then, the historic double-gold night of the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter breaststroke that was straight out of a Hollywood movie script.
Persons:
France — Léon Marchand, Frenchman, Marchand, Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, Great Britain’s Duncan Scott, China’s Shun Wang, King Léon, LEON MARCHAND
Organizations:
Paris Games, Games
Locations:
NANTERRE, France