Excited Marchand relishing reduced schedule in pursuit of medley record

Reuters

2 days ago

SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) - Leon Marchand is hoping a scaled-back schedule will give him a shot at taking out Ryan Lochte's long-standing world record in the 200 metres individual medley when the world championships begin in Singapore on Sunday.
The Frenchman was the standout performer in the pool at last year's Olympics, winning the 200 metres and 400 metres individual medley plus the 200 metres butterfly and 200 metres breaststroke in Paris, but will be swimming a reduced programme over the coming eight days of competition.
Marchand will not participate in the butterfly or breaststroke events, leaving the 23-year-old better rested to potentially break Lochte's 14-year-old record.
"I think this is a transition year for me so I wanted to have a lighter schedule than usual," Marchand told the media on Saturday. "I wanted to focus on the 200 IM and the 400 IM and the relays with the French team.
"I'm really excited to do less than usual, just to see how far can I go, how fast can I go in the 200 IM.
"I've always done the 200 IM as a race before, the same as the rest, so it'll be fun (to have) a lighter schedule.
"I'm just not used to starting on the Wednesday instead of the first day, which is good because I can finally cheer for my teammates."
Marchand won gold in the 200 metres and 400 metres IM events at the 2022 and 2023 world championships and is the current world record holder in the longer of the medley events.
Lochte's world record in the 200 metres individual medley has stood since July 2011, with Marchand swimming just six-hundredths of a second slower than the American's 1 minute 54.00 second mark when he won Olympic gold last year.
"I'm excited for the Worlds. I want to be close to my (personal bests) in every single one of my races," said Marchand.
"Of course, I want to break world records in the next few years. I don't know when that's going to happen. I still have a lot to do in the swimming world."