One of the biggest stars at the Paris Olympics so far has undoubtedly been French superstar swimmer Léon Marchand. On Wednesday, he once again showed the world why during an incredible finish to the men’s 200-meter butterfly final.
As Marchand made his final turn, he found himself nearly a full body length behind Hungary’s Kristóf Milák for first place. For the overwhelming majority of swimmers, such a gap with a minimal amount of time to work with likely would’ve meant a certain defeat.
Then Marchand turned on the jets in a finish where he surpassed Milák with astonishing closing speed. The angle in the photo below shows just how much ground Marchand made up in so little time:
Before the final turn, Léon Marchand was nearly a full body length behind Hungary's Kristóf Milák 😱
He ended up catching Milák at the end to win gold in the 200 Butterfly 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JXFBtL27Yg
— ESPN (@espn) July 31, 2024
Holy. Cow. What a legend. What a flex.
If I were in Marchand’s shoes, you wouldn’t be able to tell me anything. It’s almost as if he spotted everyone that distance just to show how dominant he can be in the water.