Leon Marchand’s 3:33.65 Makes Him Third-Fastest 400 IMer Ever

2022 NC STATE/GAC INVITATIONAL

• November 17-19, 2022
• Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• SCY (25 yards)
• Live Results on MeetMobile
• Live Results
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

TEAMS

• NC State
• Stanford
• Arizona State
• Duke
• Penn State
• Army
• George Washington (diving only)
• UNC Asheville (diving only)

Arizona State sophomore Leon Marchand took down his second pool record in as many nights at the Wolfpack Invite, this time with a new personal best in the 400 IM.

The 20-year-old Frenchman roared to the wall in 3:33.65, lowering his lifetime best by nearly half a second and shattering the pool record of 3:36.73. That mark was set last year by Cal’s Hugo Gonzalez, who dealt Marchand a rare loss in the event at March’s NCAA Championships.

MEN’S 400 IM – FINALS

• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 3:39.16
• Pool Record: 3:36.73, Hugo Gonzalez (2021)

Top 8:

1. Leon Marchand (ASU) – 3:33.65
2. David Schlicht (ASU) – 3:43.16
3. Owen McDonald (ASU) – 3:44.27
4. Ron Polonsky (STAN) – 3:44.50
5. Daniel Matheson (ASU) – 3:46.64
6. Kyle Ponsler (NCS) – 3:46.78
7. Cale Martter (ASU) – 3:48.41
8. Conall Monahan (NCS) – 3:50.16

Marchand touched nearly 10 seconds ahead of the field, which was packed with four other Sun Devils (second-place finisher David Schlicht, third-place finisher Owen McDonald, fifth-place finisher Daniel Matheson, and seventh-place finisher Cale Martter). Training with Marchand might be rubbing off on the rest of the ASU squad.

The nation-leading time solidified Marchand the third-fastest performer ever in the event, surpassing Carson Foster‘s 3:33.79 and putting him just behind Chase Kalisz (3:33.42 in 2017) and Gonzalez (3:32.88 in March of this year).

Top Performers, 400 IM

1. Hugo Gonzalez – 3:32.88
2. Chase Kalisz – 3:33.42
3. Leon Marchand – 3:33.65
4. Carson Foster – 3:33.79

Marchand split 48.31 on his opening butterfly leg, 54.32 on the backstroke portion, a blistering 1:00.64 on his breaststroke, and 50.38 on his freestyle anchor. Below is a more detailed splits comparison with his previous-best time from the NCAA Championships in March. His biggest improvements came on the fly and back legs of the race, helping him reach midway point of the race a whole second faster in 1:42.63.

Splits Comparison

Marchand cruised to a victory in the 200 IM on Thursday night in a new pool record of 1:39.28. The reigning world champion in both long-course events is showing no signs of slowing down so far this NCAA season.