Leon Marchand swam a 4:02.31 in the 500 free on Thursday night. That’s the fastest ever. By a lot. You’ll read a lot about that elsewhere.
But I’m not going to repeat the details. Instead, what I want you to do is start thinking back over the last year. Think about all the times you said “that’s ridiculous” while watching a collegiate swim. All the times you became “lost for words” because you used your biggest adjectives on a 4:06.18…and then Leon went almost four seconds faster.
Leon Marchand. Gretchen Walsh. Kate Douglass. Leon Marchand again. Alex Walsh. Kos. Lasco. Berkoff. Liendo. Guiliano.
It is a great time to be a swim fan. It’s a great time to be a college swim fan.
Michael Phelps never swam in college, so we missed that. The Dressel phenomenon was unreal, as was Missy-Mania at Cal.
But this is different. The depth of otherworldly college swimmers currently swimming in the NCAA is unlike anything that has happened in my lifetime. Not just good, not just great, not just all-time great, but the kind of jaw-dropping greatness that we thought was generational. Our ‘every 5 years’ flood is coming every few weeks.
Records are falling by the fistful. Attendance is through the roof. There are journalists from Japan and China and France and every other corner of the world at this meet. When Leon gets on the block, bodies scramble for position.
There is an energy coursing through this sport right now. It feels like we’re on the edge of another plane of existence.
If you live in Indiana, and I know a lot of you do, then come out to the Nat this weekend. There are tickets available. It’s time to turn that energy into boots on the ground. This is our chance as a sport to set a pick and climb even higher.
I’m so excited. It has been such a good season. I don’t have any new words to describe it.
Please, friends, give me some of yours.
yeah, it’s funny ’cause I notice I’m getting faster every year too. Thanks guys!
not sure how many high level sporting events can be seen for $20 + parking.
This is the happiest I’ve ever seen Braden “The Machine” Keith. Hell yeah is it fun
I agree. I maintain that these are all the “children” of Michael Phelps in particular. Most were probably four to six years old during the Beijing games, and first entered their club swimming era with the idea that a swimmer could be a superstar in the same page as Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, etc.
It’s cool that as soon as the GOAT retired Dressel emerged as an exciting superstar and then when Dressel disappeared for a bit Marchand emerged as the new superstar. It will be interesting to see who will be the man for the next quad
I think it’ll be . . . Marchand
Not sure what the big deal is. The add-up of G.Walsh’s PB 100 fr, 200 fr, 100 bk, & 100 fl is 4:00.58, so her best 500 is still faster than Leon’s 4:02.31 lol
Leon swimming in “the bathtub” has enhanced his long course. And being trained by Michael Phelps’s coach has put him over the top. He’s going to be GREAT, in Paris. He told Bowman “whatever it takes” and we’ve been witnessing the past 3 years what “whatever it takes” is.
I’m not familiar with the “whatever it takes” quote. Can you elaborate?
Defies superlatives. There are times happening we hadn’t even considered possible.
When Marchand touched the wall in 4:02.31, I didn’t jump up and down or let out a yell. I dropped my head to chest shaking side to side just laughing. What else can we do?