Léon Marchand smashes 200m medley world record
"Actually I can't believe it right now," said Marchand, who won four individual golds in front of his home fans at the Paris Olympics a year ago. "I knew I was going to be close to my PB [personal best] because I felt really good today and preparation has been pretty good. But 1:52 is unbelievable for me."
Marchand took an extended break from swimming after his Paris Olympics heroics and only returned to competition in May. He is focusing on the medley events in Singapore and had said he was going for Lochte's record.
Marchand got his world championship campaign under way on Wednesday morning, clocking a time of 1:57.63 in the heats. He said he would go all-out for the record in the semi-finals rather than conserve his energy for Thursday's final.
"It was good, I swam well, I think I pretty much did what I wanted to do," Marchand said after his morning heat. "There are a few technical details that I'll go over with my coach, things I can improve on for tonight."
Le Monde with AFP
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