PARIS — Two and a half hours before 17,000 fans rocked the bleachers of La Défense Arena, waving French flags, making so much noise another swimmer said he could hear it through his headphones and screaming the name of their hero, Léon Marchand screamed the name of his.
Ensconced in the team hotel near the venue where French swimmers rest between morning heats and afternoon finals, Marchand lost his mind cheering for the third career Olympic gold medal of judoka Teddy Riner, who until a week ago was their shared country’s most famous individual athlete.
