Already multiple champion of France and the world in the long course, Léon Marchand knows that he is eagerly awaited at the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. He should be in Paris one of the greatest chances of a French medal and the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, from July 23 to 30, 2023, are an important point of passage, as much to refine his technique and his physique as to manage the pressure of a big event, which he will tackle this time with the costume of favorite.
To manage his stress and external pressure, Léon Marchand is followed by a specialist, the mental trainer Thomas Sammut. “There was something wrong,” the swimmer explained to the media in 2022. Rawat the time of presenting this collaboration, an “additional help”.
“My goal is to know who I am as a human being. I knew I was a swimmer but apart from that, I had nothing, I was a little lost. Today, the goal it is to determine if I am able to go to the big competitions as an individual. It transcends me and it gives me a favorable energy”, confided the Frenchman. “When I manage to put this energy in my body, I manage to regenerate myself in the race, to start fast, to dare. Before, I was shy. Now, I have nothing left to lose and it’s a strength “.
“When Phelps ended his first career, he sank into depression, alcohol, drugs. If we can avoid that in Leon…”
The two men have been collaborating since, even from a distance since Léon Marchand trains for most of the year in the United States with the famous trainer Bob Bowman, the man who shaped the Olympic medal record holder, the American Michael Phelps. .
Often compared to the ogre Phelps, Léon Marchand had to deal with this cumbersome legacy. “Bob welcomed him very well and above all very well accepted the principle that we had set ourselves together. It is that Léon is not Michael Phelps, explained in 2022 his trainer Thomas Sammut to the Parisian. don’t want us to do too much to get him world records if in a year he cracks. When Phelps ended his first career (between 2012 and 2014), he sank into depression, alcohol, drugs. If we can avoid that in Leon…”
Uncomplicating the event, having fun, learning to love yourself for what you are seems to be the leitmotif of the Frenchman who shares certain secrets. Before the races, he isolates himself and opens a manga. The Frenchman also does breathing exercises and manages “heart coherence” in order to better manage possible stress. “Personal fulfillment is more important than the sporting result, abounds his trainer. ‘The job is to see Léon with a smile. If he is an Olympic champion and depressed, where is success?