400 metres Individual Medley, Men

France’s Léon Marchand had an ambitious schedule set for the Paris 2024 swimming competition, entered in four events, and it would start with the 400 individual medley. Marchand was the heavy favorite, having broken Michael Phelps’ fabled world record from the 2008 Olympics, recording 4:02.50 at the World Championships in July 2023.

In the final, nobody had a chance against Marchand, who won the gold medal by over 5½ seconds, the largest victory margin in the event at the Olympics, far surpassing American Ryan Lochte’s 3.68 second margin in 2012 over Brazil’s Thiago Pereira.

Starting the freestyle leg, American Carson Foster was in second place, followed by Japan’s Daiya Seto and Tomoyuki Matsushita, in third and fourth, respectively. Seto had the worst freestyle leg and would finish seventh, but Matsushita finished with the fastest freestyle split to take the silver medal.

Marchand was far from done. He would go on to win the 200 metre breaststroke and butterfly on the same night, three days after this final, and then finish with a fourth gold in the 200 individual medley two days after that unlikely performance.

Marchand became the only athlete at Paris 2024 to win four gold medals, in any sport, and he added a fifth with his bronze in the men’s medley relay. He joined Americans Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz, and East German Kristin Otto as the only swimmers to win four individual gold medals at a single edition of the Olympic Games. Phelps won four in 2004 and five in 2008, Spitz won four in 1972, and Otto won her four in 1988.