Individual · Saint-Étienne and Paris
Léon Marchand returns to French pools with 4:04.56 400m IM, the fifth-fastest time in history
Competing in France for the first time since his four-gold Olympic campaign, Léon Marchand won the 400m individual medley at the French championships in 4 minutes 4.56 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year and the fifth-quickest ever.
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In brief
Léon Marchand won the 400m IM at the French championships in Saint-Étienne, his first race in France since the Paris 2024 Olympics.
His 4:04.56 is the fastest 400 IM of 2026 and the fifth-fastest time in history, just two seconds off his own world record.
The swim was well under the 4:15.05 qualifying standard for the European Championships in Paris (10–16 August).
Marchand said the performance reassured him after months of feeling less than his best, and coach Nicolas Castel noted small technical flaws to address.
Return to French pools
For the first time since his four-gold Olympic campaign in Paris 2024, Léon Marchand competed on home soil at the French Championships in Saint-Étienne on 27 June. The Toulouse native drew a capacity crowd at the Raymond-Sommet pool, donning local club ASSE colours on his cap and goggles.
Dominant swim
Marchand clocked 4 minutes 4.56 seconds in the 400m individual medley, the fastest time in the world this year and the fifth-quickest in history. His morning heat had already produced a convincing 4:11.90, but the final was another level. That mark eclipsed the time he swam to win the world title in Singapore in 2025 (4:04.73) and put him comfortably under the 4:15.05 qualifying standard for August’s European Championships in Paris.
“It reassures me because I haven't felt good for months. It's the first time I've sharpened up a little.”
A barometer before the European championships
His coach Nicolas Castel, who guided him in his early career and is overseeing him this week, noted room for improvement. Marchand's first butterfly turn was slightly mistimed and he crashed into the wall at the 100-metre mark, Castel observed. Still, the swimmer himself was surprised by the result: he had expected to break 4:08, so 4:04 was a welcome bonus.
“Even though it's a race he knows well and has mastered, he can still make mistakes.”
Marchand trains at the University of Texas in Austin and plans a training block in Marseille before the Europeans, which run from 10 to 16 August in Saint-Denis, Paris. He is entered in six events at the championships but may not contest all of them.
Key times
- Marchand WR (4:02.50)
- 242.5 seconds
- Marchand 2026 (4:04.56)
- 244.56 seconds
- Marchand 2025 Worlds (4:04.73)
- 244.73 seconds
- Matsushita 2026 (4:06.93)
- 246.93 seconds
- Qualifying mark (4:15.05)
- 255.05 seconds
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Sources and context
- 20minutesLéon Marchand régale pour son grand retour en France avec un chrono canon
- SudOuest.frVIDEO. Léon Marchand sacré sur le 400 m quatre nages aux Championnats de France, avec le 5e meilleur temps de l'histoire
- FranceinfoVIDEO. Natation : auteur de la meilleure performance mondiale de l'année, Léon Marchand sacré champion de France du 400 m 4 nages
- Le Figaro.frNatation : Léon Marchand signe la meilleure performance mondiale de l'année sur 400 m 4 nages
- Léon Marchand
- French swimmer, quadruple Olympic champion, winner of the 400m IM
- Tomoyuki Matsushita
- Japanese swimmer, silver medallist in Paris 2024 400m IM
- Nicolas Castel
- Swimming coach, early mentor of Léon Marchand
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