Men’s NCAA Championships: Leon Marchand Blasts NCAA Record 4:02.31 in 500

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Men’s NCAA Championships: Leon Marchand Blasts NCAA Record 4:02.31 in 500

Leon Marchand used the word “crazy” twice in his first answer Thursday night about what his 500 freestyle felt like.

Star athletes, they’re just like us.

Marchand followed the unanimous opinion at the IUPUI Natatorium: His time of 4:02.31 won a national title and rewrote both the NCAA record and the sense of what is possible in the event.

“I was trying to do my best time,” Marchand said. “I went 4:06 two weeks ago. I wasn’t shaved (then) and I wasn’t as prepared as right now. I wanted to break the record again.

“4:02 is kind of crazy. I was able to do that but it was a really fun race. I think the pace I was on was kind of crazy, the first 200. I was just trying to hold on. That was a painful race, but it was fun.”

Marchand had trimmed .14 seconds off Kieran Smith’s 2020 record with his 4:06.18 at Pac-12s. It served notice to both Luke Hobson, the reigning NCAA champion from Texas, and Gabriel Jett, Cal’s Pac-12 champ in the event with national title aspirations.

NCAA Record: Leon Marchand, Arizona State 4:06.18 (2024)
2023 Champion: Luke Hobson, Teas 4:07.37

There was no keeping up with Marchand Thursday. He was up by a body length inside the first 100 yards. From there, the questions as to if he would lower his NCAA record, of which he holds five individual, had ceased. The only compelling battle was if he could unthinkably get under four minutes, a ludicrous thought to even entertain. But before Marchand, nothing is ridiculous.

His splits:

r:+0.62  21.09        44.62 (23.53)
        1:08.61 (23.99)     1:33.12 (24.51) -- 48.50 
        1:57.94 (24.82)     2:22.31 (24.37) -- 49.19
        2:47.18 (24.87)     3:12.30 (25.12) -- 49.99
        3:37.76 (25.46)     4:02.31 (24.55) -- 50.01

In the process, he took down Clark Smith’s pool record of 4:08.42 from 2017 and the U.S. Open record that he had set earlier this month. Smith remains the American-record holder. The meet record was 4:06.61, belonging to Matt Sates in 2022.

“Tonight, I had no limits,” Marchand said. “I was just trying to go for it from the beginning. I didn’t have a pace in mind. I was just like, let’s see. Let’s see how fast can I go. It worked pretty well. I think it was kind of painful at the end. Maybe I could’ve paced it a little better, but you don’t really know.”

Marchand is and will continue to be the subject of pressure, through the Paris Olympics, of which he will be one of the faces and the home-country’s biggest hopes. Swimming different events, like the 500, and challenging himself in different events is a way to do that.

“I think it’s how I get better at swimming, by doing different stuff,” he said. “I’m trying to challenge myself in different events. I’ve been doing a lot of freestyle recently in practice.”

Hobson was quicker than last year but it only netted him silver in 4:06.93. Jake Magahey of Georgia, the top seed from prelims, took bronze in 4:07.12. Jett was fourth in 4:10.68, slower than prelims by seven hundredths. Charlie Hawke finished fifth.

Ross Dant, who finished seventh last year, was 19th in prelims. Jake Mitchell, fifth in 2023, won the B final in 4:10.48, He and Gio Linscheer went 1-2 in that, giving the Gators a boost in the team standings.

In the team race, ASU also finished 12th (Zalan Sarkany) and 15th (Daniel Matheson)

Event 3  Men 500 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 4:06.18  3/7/2024  Leon Marchand, ASU
         Meet: M 4:06.61  3/24/2022 Matthew Sates, Georgia
     American: A 4:06.32  2/19/2020 Kieran Smith, Florida
   U. S. Open: O 4:06.18  3/7/2024  Leon Marchand, ASU
         Pool: P 4:08.42  3/23/2017 Clark Smith, Texas
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Marchand, Leon         JR ASU               4:09.54    4:02.31N  20  
    r:+0.62  21.09        44.62 (23.53)
        1:08.61 (23.99)     1:33.12 (24.51)
        1:57.94 (24.82)     2:22.31 (24.37)
        2:47.18 (24.87)     3:12.30 (25.12)
        3:37.76 (25.46)     4:02.31 (24.55)
  2 Hobson, Luke           JR Texas             4:10.28    4:06.93P  17  
    r:+0.71  22.26        46.51 (24.25)
        1:11.14 (24.63)     1:35.94 (24.80)
        2:00.85 (24.91)     2:25.88 (25.03)
        2:51.13 (25.25)     3:16.44 (25.31)
        3:41.72 (25.28)     4:06.93 (25.21)
  3 Magahey, Jake          SR Georgia           4:09.36    4:07.12P  16  
    r:+0.71  22.29        46.87 (24.58)
        1:11.78 (24.91)     1:36.95 (25.17)
        2:02.14 (25.19)     2:27.31 (25.17)
        2:52.25 (24.94)     3:17.18 (24.93)
        3:42.22 (25.04)     4:07.12 (24.90)
  4 Jett, Gabriel          JR California        4:10.61    4:10.68   15  
    r:+0.66  22.29        46.32 (24.03)
        1:11.01 (24.69)     1:36.09 (25.08)
        2:01.52 (25.43)     2:27.15 (25.63)
        2:52.66 (25.51)     3:18.56 (25.90)
        3:44.85 (26.29)     4:10.68 (25.83)
  5 Hawke, Charlie         JR Alabama           4:11.02    4:11.40   14  
    r:+0.72  22.55        47.36 (24.81)
        1:12.72 (25.36)     1:38.26 (25.54)
        2:04.11 (25.85)     2:30.02 (25.91)
        2:55.77 (25.75)     3:21.61 (25.84)
        3:47.03 (25.42)     4:11.40 (24.37)
  6 Hoagland, Jack         5Y SMU               4:11.11    4:12.65   13  
    r:+0.73  23.00        47.80 (24.80)
        1:13.20 (25.40)     1:39.07 (25.87)
        2:05.02 (25.95)     2:31.14 (26.12)
        2:57.06 (25.92)     3:22.74 (25.68)
        3:48.29 (25.55)     4:12.65 (24.36)
  7 Carrozza, Coby         SR Texas             4:10.74    4:13.33   12  
    r:+0.75  22.41        47.18 (24.77)
        1:12.54 (25.36)     1:38.01 (25.47)
        2:03.98 (25.97)     2:30.04 (26.06)
        2:55.82 (25.78)     3:21.79 (25.97)
        3:47.91 (26.12)     4:13.33 (25.42)
  8 Mathias, Mason         JR Auburn            4:10.82    4:14.00   11  
    r:+0.64  22.67        47.84 (25.17)
        1:13.23 (25.39)     1:38.77 (25.54)
        2:04.34 (25.57)     2:30.07 (25.73)
        2:56.01 (25.94)     3:22.15 (26.14)
        3:48.66 (26.51)     4:14.00 (25.34)

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