Leon Marchand Breaks Michael Phelps' 400-Meter Individual Medley Record At World Aquatics Championships

France's Leon Marchand on Sunday (July 23) broke swimming great Michael Phelps' only remaining individual record as he completed the 400 meter individual medley in 4:02.50sec at the ongoing World Aquatics Championships 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Phelps had held the record since 2002 and had bettered his timing with a 4:03.84sec timing at the 2008 Olympics, but Marchand took 1.34secs off that timing, becoming the first-ever to break 4 minutes, 3 seconds barrier, and announced his arrival ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The 21-year-old finished well over 4 seconds of second-placed American Carson Foster, who finished at 4:06.56 and Seto Daiya of Japan, who finished third with a timing of 4:09.41.

What is Individual Medley in swimming?

Individual Medley is an event in which the swimmer covers the four swimming styles in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

Marchand was in fact 2.77 seconds ahead of Phelps' record time at 300m after the breaststroke, but tired a little at the end in freestyle or else he would have finished even quicker.

With an home Olympics set for next year, Frenchman Marchand promised that the "best is yet to come" after smashing the 400 meter individual medley record on Sunday (July 23).

"That was insane, one of the most painful things I've done. It was amazing to do it here and the time is crazy," Marchand said poolside. "The best is yet to come.

"It's excellent, I train everyday for that. I'm two seconds faster than my previous record, I beat the world record, it's amazing... I don't know what to say, I'm so happy."

Phelps, who was doing commentary at the event, gave the gold medal to Marchand. The American great also shared a moment on the podium with the new record breaker and posted a picture on his Instagram account with the caption: All records are meant to be broken.

"Congrats to @leon.marchand31 and @coach_bowman !! All records are meant to be broken and I know the work it took to get there... I'm excited to watch your journey," Phelps posted on Instagram.

Who is Leon Marchand?

Leon Marchand is a 21-year-old French swimmer, who trains at Arizona State under the guidance of Bob Bowman, the coach who played a pivotal role in Michael Phelps' career. Bowman is also the current coach of the American team at the World Aquatics Championships.

This also doesn't come as a surprise to many as Marchand had come very close to breaking the record, when he swam the 400 meter Individual Medley at 4:04.28 in last year's world championships in Budapest.

Who are the current holders of Phelps' five individual records broken in 2008 Olympics?