{"id":618941,"date":"2025-07-30T06:37:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T13:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=618941"},"modified":"2025-07-30T17:03:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T00:03:35","slug":"flash-leon-marchand-annihilates-200-im-world-record-skipping-past-153-with-152-69-in-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/flash-leon-marchand-annihilates-200-im-world-record-skipping-past-153-with-152-69-in-semifinals\/","title":{"rendered":"Leon Marchand Destroys 200 IM World Record at World Champs; Skips Past 1:53 with 1:52.69 in Semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLASH! Leon Marchand Annihilates 200 IM World Record, Skipping Past 1:53 With 1:52.69 in Semifinals<\/strong><\/p>\n

The great\u00a0Leon Marchand<\/strong> has struck again. A 14-year-old world record in the men’s 200 individual medley has been confined to history by an enormous margin as Marchand put forth a historic effort in Wednesday’s semifinals.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old Frenchman had clearly stated that the global standard in the 200 IM was his primary target for this year’s World Championships. After falling six hundredths short of a long-standing mark held by Ryan Lochte\u00a0<\/strong>at the Paris Olympics, Marchand dropped the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke from his schedule for this meet. The goal, his coaches said, was to see what was capable when he was fully fresh for the shorter medley.<\/p>\n

Now we know. Swimmers had been seeking a 1:53 since 2011, but Marchand skipped right over that time and reached 1:52-territory. Choosing to strike for the world record in the semifinal, Marchand was more a second under Lochte’s pace the entire race, the superimposed world record time at his feet. He finished in 1:52.69 to wipe 1.31 seconds from the record.<\/p>\n

“I actually can\u2019t really believe it right now. I knew I was going to get close to my PB because I felt really good today, and the preparation has been pretty good, so I was really excited to race. It\u2019s unbelievable for me,” Marchand said. “<\/span>What\u2019s crazy is that it\u2019s a whole second, and it\u2019s still hard to believe. A 1:52 in the 200, that\u2019s insane. I\u2019m so happy. It\u2019s just incredible.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Marchand had some help in setting the early pace as\u00a0Shaine Casas<\/strong>, an American in his training group at the University of Texas, showed his usual early speed by going out in 23.88, just ahead of Marchand’s 24.10, with both men far clear of the 24.89 from Lochte’s best swim. By the halfway point, Marchand had opened up a substantial lead, and as he propelled himself down the breaststroke leg, it was clear that a historic swim was in the offing.<\/p>\n

He was almost two seconds under record pace at the 150-meter mark, so it was irrelevant that his 28.06 freestyle leg was more than a half-second slower than Lochte’s.<\/p>\n

The splits:<\/p>\n