21-year-old swimmer breaks Michael Phelps' final record
In the final race of the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Marchand finished first with a time of 4 minutes 2 seconds 50. The 21-year-old swimmer broke the mark of 4 minutes 3 seconds 86 that existed since the 2008 Olympics, the last personal record of Michael Phelps. Phelps himself, the most successful athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals, presented the gold medal to Marchand.
"This is crazy," Marchand said. "This is the hardest challenge I've ever had. It's great to be able to do this here."
Phelps held the men's 400m medley record for nearly 21 years. The American legend repeatedly broke his own record from 2002 to 2008. Phelps retired seven years ago, after winning gold and silver at the 2016 Olympics.
"It's amazing, I practice every day for this goal," added Marchand. "I was two seconds faster than my previous record and beat the world record. I don't know what to say, I'm very happy."
This is Marchand's third win at the world swimming championships. Previously, the 21-year-old athlete won gold medals in the men's 200m and 400m medley in 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. Marchand is a good candidate for both of these events at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On the same day, Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus set a world record and won gold in the women's 400m freestyle with a time of 3 minutes 55 seconds 48. She broke the old record of 3 minutes 56 seconds 08 held by Summer McIntosh, a 16-year-old swimmer who surpassed her in March.
In the final race, McIntosh finished fourth with a time of 3 minutes 59 seconds 94. 2022 World Champion Katie Ledecky finished second with 3 minutes 58 seconds 73, while Erika Fairweather finished third with 3 minutes 59 seconds 59. Ledecky took the 23rd HC at the swimming world championships.
On July 23, Fukuoka also witnessed a record of 3 minutes 27 seconds 96 of the Australian women's 4x100m freestyle relay team, including four swimmers Mollie O'Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Meg Harris and Emma McKeon. They broke the Australian team's own record at the 2021 Olympics with 3 minutes 29 seconds 69 and at the 2019 world championships with 3 minutes 30 seconds 21. McKeon is the only member still competing since 2019.
The American swimming team finished second with 3 minutes 31 seconds 93. The Chinese swimming team finished third and set an Asian record with 3 minutes 32 seconds 40.
