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Leon Marchand is unquestionably one of the best swimmers in the world at present. He will continue to improve his skills as a swimmer but has definitely reached great heights already, such that many swimmers at this age, 20, could only dream of.
Michael Phelps is the GOAT of swimming. He is also considered the greatest Olympian of all time. When we take a look at Phelps' career, it looks like his legacy cannot be replicated. His success across competitions in swimming speaks for itself.
Several people in the swimming community have already started comparing Leon Marchand to Michael Phelps. But how good is the French swimmer? Let's compare Marchand's career to Phelps' when the GOAT Olympian was 20 years old.
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Leon Marchand's career's highlights so far
The French swimmer has already earned high praise from several swimming experts. Back in 2019, he won a bronze medal in the 400-meter individual medley event at the World Junior Championships. Marchand also claimed two bronze medals at the 2019 European Junior Championships.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Leon Marchand was unable to win any medals. The best was yet to come from the Frenchman though. During the 2022 NCAA Championships, he won his first individual NCAA title by emerging victorious in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:37.69. He won another individual title by triumphing in the 200-yard breaststroke event.
Apart from that, he also won two silver medals - one in the 400-yard individual medley and another in the 4x100-yard freestyle event. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, the French swimmer won two gold medals and one silver.
He claimed gold medals in the 400-meter IM and 200-meter IM events. His lone silver medal at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships came in the 200-meter butterfly event. In the recently concluded 2023 NCAA Championships, Leon Marchand won seven medals.
Marchand finished first in the 200-yard individual medley, 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard breaststroke events. The swimming prodigy finished second in the 4x50-yard medley and 4x200-yard medley. He also finished third in the 4x100-yard medley and 4x100-yard freestyle events.
Michael Phelps' career highlights at age 20
Michael Phelps had one of the best careers a sportsperson could ever dream of. But what were Michael Phelps' career highlights when he was 20 years old?
The Baltimore Bullet competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney but was unable to earn a podium finish. He finished in fifth place in the 200-meter butterfly event.
Phelps then took part in the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, and won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly event with a world record time of 1:54.58.
At the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, Michael Phelps won a total of five medals - three golds and two silvers. He emerged victorious in the 200-meter medley, 400-meter medley and 4x100-meter medley events. The GOAT Olympian then earned a runner-up finish in the 200-meter butterfly and 4x200-meter freestyle events.
In 2003, he competed in the 2003 World Championships in which and claimed gold medals in the 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter medley, 400-meter medley, and 4x100-meter medley events. He also won two silver medals in the 100-meter butterfly and 4x200-meter freestyle events.
Michael Phelps had a highly successful campaign at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won six gold medals and two bronze medals. This is a performance spoken about to this day.
Phelps finished first in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter medley, 400-meter medley, 4x200-meter freestyle, and 4x100-meter medley events.
The Baltimore Bullet claimed two bronze medals in the 200-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter freestyle events.
Who had a better career at 20, Michael Phelps or Leon Marchand?
So when Michael Phelps' career at the age of 20 is compared to Leon Marchand, it looks better. The American had already won several medals at the international level.
Still, both are great swimmers in their own ways and there is no doubt that Marchand has many more titles coming his way in the future.
