One more final, one more gold, and one more Olympic record for Léon Marchand. This one was in the 200m individual medley, and when it was all over, in 1min 54.06sec, the roars carried far and wide across the city, even delaying the track races six miles away at the Stade de France because the cheering for him there was so loud. Back at the swimming, Marchand was all of a sudden so tired he could hardly raise an arm to celebrate. He hung on the lane divider, smiling, then finally hauled himself out of the pool to salute the crowd.
It was Marchand’s 11th race in six days, his fourth gold, and his fourth record. Great Britain’s Duncan Scott was closest to him, but truth be told that wasn’t very close at all. Scott won the silver in 1min 55.31sec. It was his eighth Olympic medal. Only Jason Kenny has won more for Great Britain.
