Olympics: Lon Marchand, the butterfly that triggered the Paris tsunami

when Ron Marchand The butterfly emerged from the water in the last 50 seconds, and the futuristic Wehrmacht thought she was the prey of the tsunami. It was like the butterfly in chaos theory, whose flapping wings can cause seismic movements, but in the flesh. The force of that fluttering was the force of gold meeting the resisting gold on the podium. It was a crossroads of victory between two generations separated by five years, but one year for an Olympic champion is five years for a mortal. Marchand, 22, was the next in line for gold; Katie Ledecky27. It’s Jin Kang.

There are similarities in the challenges faced in these two Olympics, each of which faced four tests. Marchand, 200m and 400m medley, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke. At present, he has completed the last three swimming events: three gold medals. Ledecky, 400m, 800m and 1,500m free relay, and 4x200m free relay. After facing the first two events, he added a gold medal and a bronze medal. It can be said that this is an incomplete challenge for the American, but it is unfair to an old-fashioned swimmer. From Marchand, the faster Michael PhelpsThe world we live in, at least deep down, still belongs to Ledecky. Paris respects them. Angels are waiting for you.

Two antagonist tests

The challenge for Marchand was not only to compete in seemingly opposing swimming events, such as the 200m butterfly and the 200m breaststroke, but also to compete only two hours apart, after facing semifinals in the morning with a small gap. The butterfly shows its extraordinary speed. The breaststroke is the best underwater swimming, because its long, almost barbed body creates less resistance to the water. This combination produces the best medley swimmer of the moment, and if we go back in time, maybe we will soon be talking about one of the history. The world record in the 400 style already belongs to him (4.02.50). I got it from Phelps.

Miraak’s Objection

The order of the finals was the best for the Frenchman, as the semifinals showed that he would face more opponents in the butterfly than in the breaststroke, as there were Christopher Milak. The Hungarian is a cyclops of water. In the semi-finals he also dominated, he was faster than Marchand. This happened in the series as well. The final began like this, with the Hungarian taking the lead in three rounds. Leaving the third, Marchand accelerated his underwater swim and emerged like a killer whale. Something was left inside that Milak could not resist. Nor was he opposed to a frenetic stance. The Frenchman set the fastest 400m butterfly in Olympic history (21 January 51) in the 200m medley. The breaststroke, on the other hand, allowed Marchand to dominate from start to finish.

For Ledecky, it was even simpler. The pain I experienced in the 400m freestyle went away with the distance. The American is a long-distance runner, and a very fast one, as she proved by winning the 200m freestyle at her national trials. Yet in the current Olympic arena, facing a strong Australian women’s team, that wasn’t enough. It was not only Aliana Titmusswho had already beaten Ledecky in Tokyo. Trying again would be very good for the North American, who could have taken refuge in the long flights of 800 to 1,500 meters. Instead, he wanted to take on the challenge. Comfort does not come with championships, nor with real ones.

In the 1,500m race, the American exerted an unsustainable cruising pace for the rest of the race and finished on 30 March 2002. Paris watched his victory with delight, though the French were encouraged Anastasia Kirpichenkovaalthough La Défense will not be as excited as Marchand, the leader of a French team that is climbing the medal table. Gallic swimming, with its strong Olympic tradition, has found a new reference in Laure Manadou, who won three medals (gold, silver and bronze) at the 2004 Athens Olympics, at the age of 18. The swimmer from Toulouse has already made progress in Paris.

American leadership

Ledecky also embodies the leadership of the American swimming team that has fallen into disrepair in Paris. Phelps’ shadow is long, very long. There was nothing left of the champion in the 100-meter freestyle yesterday, except for the Star-Spangled Banner. Caleb DresselThe five-gold medallist in Tokyo failed to qualify for the “trials” after returning home from a bout with depression.

Ledecky’s gold medal is the eighth of her career and her 12th Olympic medal, which she will surpass if she dominates the 800m freestyle (which is foreseeable) and the 4x200m freestyle (unlikely due to opposition from the Australian team). Larissa LatyninaWith nine gold medals, she would have achieved that goal as the most successful woman in Olympic history. Simone Biles If his mindset in Tokyo didn’t say enough. Ledecky’s movements never stopped; her movements kept going, just like her strokes.