Michael Phelps Had Classy Response to Léon Marchand Breaking His Olympic Record

Kristen Wong | Jul 31, 2024

Michael Phelps has been busy this Olympics calling the swimming events on NBC. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michael Phelps has won it all ever since making his Olympic debut in the 2000 Sydney Games at just 15 years old. Now, he’s looking forward to seeing the next generation of Olympians give his decorated career a run for its money.

Phelps recently told Pat McAfee that he was excited to see France’s Leon Marchand, who is training with Phelps’s former swimming coach, surpass one of his Olympic records this summer. 

“For me, nobody believed that I was able to do the things that I was trying to do, right? But I did, deep down inside, and same thing for [Marchand],” Phelps said on Tuesday. “A lot of people said my records were never gonna be broken and untouched, but clearly it’s not that. And for me, I love it. I love being able to see a young man have a dream, go out there, put in the work and put together the pieces that give him a chance to do this… He and I have so many similarities.”

"A lot of people said my records were never gonna be broken and untouched..

I love being able to see a young man chase his dream and he understands what it takes"@MichaelPhelps #PMSLive https://t.co/nppHAdb3yn pic.twitter.com/ERNgIny2b9

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 30, 2024

On Sunday, Marchand recorded a 4:02:95 in the men’s 400-meter individual medley to win France’s first Olympic swimming gold since 2012, besting Phelps’s Olympic record of 4:03:84 that Phelps set in the 2008 Beijing Games. Marchand also currently holds the world record in the event, swimming a 4:02:50 during the 2023 World Championships.

Phelps and Marchand met briefly during the medal ceremony, when Phelps presented the 22-year-old with the gold medal and, as many saw it, symbolically passed the torch. 

As one of the most promising rising stars in the sport, Marchand nonetheless has a long way to go to catch up to Phelps’s 23 gold medals and 28 Olympic medals in total.