“I discovered that I had a lot of aches & pains” - Leon Marchand weighs in on the hardships of returning to the pool post-Paris Olympics celebrations

Leon Marchand revealed that he had discovered body pains and a loss of rhythm when he took to the pool a long while after his success at the Paris Olympics. Marchand won four gold medals in the 400m medley, 200m butterfly, 200m breaststroke, and 200m medley, earning the most wins among individual participants.

In his second Olympic edition in Paris, Marchand won the 400m individual medley to become the first French Olympic champion (swimming) since the 2012 Summer Games. The 22-year-old clocked 2:05.85 in the 200m breaststroke and 1:51.21 in the 200m butterfly to win in Olympic record times.

Marchand capped off his Paris Olympic campaign with the 200m medley win, becoming the first French swimmer and fourth-ever to win four golds at a single Games. After his Olympic heroics, the French swimmer took six weeks off and busied himself with iconic appearances.

The 22-year-old was spotted behind the turntable with DJ David Guetta at Ushuaia Beach in Ibiza, at the screening of the documentary Kaizen, receiving a hero's welcome in his hometown Toulouse, and sailing with Francois Gabart and Tom Laperche in a 37-meter trimaran SVR Lazartigue, among others.

In September, the Olympic champion returned to the pool and started training with Nicolas Castel in Toulouse before starting 2025 with Michael Phelps' coach Bob Bowman. Since he took a long while off, Marchand realized he had pains and aches from Paris, and the time gap impacted his rhythm.

"It was hard to get back into it. It’s the first time I’ve taken so much vacation. As a result, the sensations weren’t very good in the water, and I discovered that I had a lot of aches and pains."

However, he hilariously confirmed that his speed was intact nonetheless. Leon Marchand turned pro in 2024 and has been training with Bob Bowman since April 2024.

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Leon Marchand - "My goal is to surpass myself and be better than the day before"

Leon Marchand smiles after winning 200m individual medley at the 2024 Summer Olympics; Source: Getty

As Marchand returns to training, he is focused on preparing for the 2025 World Championship with his coach Bowman. The Toulouse native went on to reflect upon his recent achievements and expressed that his new goal is not to just win but to improve every day.

"My goal is not to win. It’s to surpass myself and be better than the day before," he shared with Canal+. (via Olympics.com)

Leon Marchand also admitted having a Plan B and expressed his wish not to swim for his entire life. He would want to inspire with his stories since he had already taken a mental picture of his gold-winning feats to describe the instances in the future.