Leon Marchand and Kate Douglass raise anticipation as leave for the first stop of the short-course Swimming World Cup 2024

Fresh off their Paris Olympics victories, Leon Marchand and Kate Douglass are set to make waves as they embark on the first stop of the short-course Swimming World Cup. With both athletes coming off their impressive performances at the French capital, fans are poised to witness a few thrilling showdowns from the American and the French swimmer.

The first of the three stops of the 2024 short-course Swimming World Cup will be held in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Fans are poised for an electrifying showdown from October 18 to 20, 2024. The events in Shanghai will be held in short-course pools (25m / 8 ft 0 inch) rather than the Olympic length (50 m / 164 ft 1 in).

The French swimming star will be joined by other Paris Olympic champions, including Pan Zhanle, Thomas Ceccon, Chad Le Clos, Qin Haiyang, Nicolo Martinenghi, Arno Kamminga, Siobhan Haughey, Kaylee McKeown, Regan Smith, Zhang Yufei, and Douglass.

Marchand and Douglass both bagged four medals at the Paris Games. Both athletes offered a sneak peek on their Instagram stories from their travel to Shanghai, building excitement for the upcoming match.

Screenshot of Leon Marchand's Instagram story.

Screenshot of Kate Douglass' Instagram story.

The second and the third stop of the short-course Swimming World Cup are slated from October 24-26, 2024, and October 31- November 2, 2024, in Incheon, Republic of Korea and Singapore, respectively.

Leon Marchand set multiple records at the Paris Games to become the first male swimmer since Michael Phelps to win four gold medals in the same Olympics

Leon Marchand of France celebrates winning the Men's 200m Breaststroke Final at the 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena, in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Getty Images)

Leon Marchand became the first male swimmer since legendary Michael Phelps to win four gold medals in the same Olympics.

The French swimmer bagged four gold medals in Paris, including the 200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly, 200 and 400m individual medley. He set a new Olympic record in the 200m breaststroke, clocking an impressive time of 2:05.85.

In the 200m butterfly event, he defeated Kristof Malik and Ilya Kahrun by posting another Olympic record with a staggering 1:51.21. He surpassed Malik's Olympic record of 1:51.25, which the Hungarian swimmer set during the Tokyo Games.

Marchand further set new Olympic records in 200m medley and 400m medley by registering 1:54.06 and 4:02.95, respectively, to shatter Michael Phelps' record set during the 2008 Games. Moreover, Marchand contributed to the team's effort to collect a bronze medal in the men's 4x100m medley.