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The Vortex, May 2025: Marchand's Next 'Merci France!' - 2:08 Best 200 Breast Outside Title Tests

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by Craig Lord

published May 17, 2025

On 2:08.25 in the 200m breaststroke in the concluding session of the Longhorn Elite Invite at his base in Austin, Texas, Léon Marchand raced once more into the realm of the uncharted beyond his best championship waters.

Take out his Olympic-gold grabbing 2:05.85 European record in Paris last year, the 2:06.59 he clocked last French nationals in 2023 and the 2:08.11 from his semi at the Games warming up for a thunderous double in front of an adoring, partisan, Parisian crowd in his Games semi, and the four-times Olympic champion's time is the fastest he's ever clocked in the warm-up pool:

A reminder of that breath-taking double sandwiched between 400 and 200IM victories:

It was le deuxième grand merci from Marchand to the French federation (FFN) after he blew them a 4:07.11 kiss in the 400IM on Friday in the wake of a decision to waive selection policy for the World Championships this July: 'oui!' - you can stay in Texas, keep working at it and save your time and energy for the bigger moment rather than return home for championship trials obligatory for all others who wish to be in Singapore come the global summer showcase.

The best Marchand had raced outside major championship waters had been the 2:08.40 he clocked at the U.S. Pro Swim in April last year on his way to Olympic trials and then the biggest moment of his career to date, a home Games.

Take a glimpse over your shoulder back to the glorious Phelpsian Symphony and you see a coach, Bob Bowman, guiding his charge to understand that every race has its meaning and purpose, whether it follows a day of 10k practice or a full taper fit to spark every burner you've got.

It's no different with Marchand and - from the remoteness of a day spent baking cakes, pastries and serving fine wine at a local World Fest of global culinary delights for an international school raising funds to a new educational wing on its campus - I couldn't say whether nailing two new beyond-championship bests was meant or not. I like to think that it was, or at least that such prep-day sparkle was just the barkle needed if cherries are to be placed neatly on cakes come the party.

**Léon Marchand - Merci Paris! - photo by Patrick B. Kraemer**

Saturday night was alright for fighting for the right to show that long breaks make Marchand no less serious, committed and wedded to a process that has taken him to a place no other swimmer has ever been to in history, with more to come.

Here's how he raced it after a heat time of 2:11.25:

29.55 1:01.91 (32.36) 1:35.14 (33.23) 2:08.25 (33.11)

Longhorn training partners Carson Foster 2:14.31, and Will Scholtz, on a Wilkien 2:15.80, followed the Frenchman home.

No hard to see the training-day dynamic that contributes to the Bowman orchestration, and that in every race at the meet.

Take Regan Smith, 59.39 in heats and 58.34 in the 100 back final, followed by a 2:11.36 200IM test of the squad, Smith's 2:14 heat and 2:11.36 followed by teammates Campbell Chase, 19 and on 2:12.53, 200 free momentum-gatherer Erin Gemmell, 2:14.08, and Campbell Stoll, 2:14.86.

Glance sideways and we see Hubert Kós, Olympic 200 back champion for Hungary last year, following a similar test set: 53.28 in heats and 53.51 for the 100 back win ahead of Texas teammate Will Modglin, 54.18. Then, after a 2:03.32 in the 200IM heats, a 1:59.18 in the final ahead of four Texas teammates home between 2:00.5 and 2:03.1, Baylor Nelson and Camden Taylor on the 2-min mark.

On freestyle, more evidence of work in progress, Rex Maurer making it a third career high with a 7:51.19 time-trial of a win in the 800m free after PBs in the 200 and 400m earlier in the meet.

In the closing freestyle dash finals, Simone Manuel, after 24.76 in heats, landed a 24.54 punch and warning to all she's on her way back to the hunt for a USA berth at World titles in fine fettle.

The men's dash was nothing to write home about but even then, look for the work underway: visitor Ben Scholl 22.56 and a 22.87 from Texas' Garrett Gould, 19, was followed by a spot of math from Olympic 200 free bronze medallist Luke Hobson, now working under Bowman's guidance and on finishing his paper with a 22.97 part-answer to a sum to come.

RESULTS IN FULL

The other reports on the meet in the depth of the May Vortex...

Sunday, May 18

Alexa Leary Makes It A Brace Of World Para Records in Sydney

On the final morning at the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre, Paralympic champion Alexa Leary wrote more history when she broke her second World Para Swimming record of the Swimming NSW Sydney Open.

Leary clocked 59.07 in the S9 100m Freestyle heats on the final day of the meet at Sydney Olympic Park, taking down her own world record of 59.22 set just weeks ago at the 2025 Australian Open Championships.

Leary's latest pioneering effort marked her second global standard at the meet: she set the 50m Freestyle S9 mark for the title on Saturday.

Leary's 27.23 eclipsed the previous mark of 27.25 set by American Christie Raleigh Crossley during the heats of the S9 50m Freestyle at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

After the dash mark, Leary said:

“Personally, once again, I didn't really realise I did it, and it's like, this takes me a bit of time to know that I broke it, but I'm bloody proud of myself. Can't believe I actually did it again” she said with a grin post-race. “Training's on fire. I'm giving so much dedication to what I want this year. I'm really giving it to it and, you know, I'm just doing good. I'm doing real good.”

RESULTS IN FULL

In other coverage:

This Week's SOS FORUM

May 13-14-15, This Week 25 Years Ago:

Also in the May Vortex:

Léon Marchand Returns The FFN Favour - 4:07.11, His Fastest 400IM Beyond Major Title Chases
Léon Marchand Gets French Champs Fly Past - Responds With 4:12 Cut For Singapore Worlds Ticket In Heats At Texan Trial
Cameron McEvoy Mastery of Consistent Dash Speed Continues Apace: 21.5 & 21.7 at Sydney Open
Pan Vs Sun* Confined To Home Pool As China Makes Its First Olympic Swim Champion Ineligible
Simone Manuel On Growing up In Swimming: "I didn't feel like I fit in"
Sexual Assault Charge Added To Rape Allegation In Yannick Agnel Trial
Irish Olympic Heroes Daniel Wiffen & Mona McSharry Lead Team Of 12 To Singapore Worlds
Paraguayan Swimmer Expelled From Paris 2024 Hints At Comeback
McIntosh's Endless Summer
Dawn Fraser Talks Of Brush With Death In TV Interview
Mary-Sophie Harvey High Five Includes Fourth Career Best At Giant Paris Open
Ronan Wantenaar's Breakthrough
Underpinning Parental Pride In Sean McCann's Progress in the Pool
Marrit Steenbergen Sails Under 53 For Tenth Time For Giant Win In Paris
Cameron McEvoy Sets Sights Cielo's 20.9 WR & Sees "No Reason" To Rule Out Brisbane 2032 At 39
Mary-Sophie Harvey & Marrit Steenbergen At The Double in Paris
Scotland's Never Too Late campaign sees 152% increase in adult swimming programmes
Coach Matteo Giunta Defends Federica Pellegrini On "Zero Tolerance" Stance In Sinner Doping Case
Great Britain Selects 20 For European U23 Championships
ASU Boss Says College Sports Revenue-Share Announcement Close
Jordan Crooks Takes A Break From Racing
Gary Hall Jr's Medals Back From The Flames
Jon Rudd's Time In Ireland Is Done As He Heads Off To Lead Saudi Performance Program
Lukas Märtens Makes It 200-400 Double With 1:44.25 Victory At German Nationals
Gretchen Walsh Joins Sjöstrom In Club Of Sub-25 'Fly Dashers; Irish & Danish Marks For Ellen Walshe & Tomas Koski
Katie Ledecky Sweeps To Her 2nd Career Fastest 400 Free - 3:56.8