American swimmers are struggling at the Paris Olympics, but Ledecky has set a new record
The birth of the next Michael Phelps: Leon Marchand and Katie Ledecky in the swimming pool after four years of swimming, winning gold in the 1500-meter freestyle
After settling for bronze in the 400-meter freestyle final on the the first day of competition, Ledecky will be back in the pool Wednesday night chasing gold in her signature event: the 1500-meter freestyle final.
Asked about how it feels to train a breakout talent whose Olympic medals go to France, Bowman shrugged and said, “I’m still red, white and blue in my heart.”
“I rank him at the top right now,” Bowman said of Marchand, speaking this week in Paris. “He’s got the speed, he’s got the endurance. He’s not even reached his potential.”
Marchand was from France and competed for Arizona State University. He now trains with legendary American swimming coach Bob Bowman, the man who once trained Michael Phelps.
Indeed, the biggest new prospects in the sport – powerhouse swimmers widely seen as the next version of America’s Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky – are no longer from the U.S.
“I don’t think it’s about how strong Team USA is or how weak we are. I think it’s just a point of how much the sport has grown,” said American swimmer Bobby Finke.
At the Tokyo Games three years ago, Finke won the gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle and improved upon his silver medal performance at the Beijing Olympics.
Leon Marchand has become one of the stars of the Olympics. He turned in a performance in the 400 meter individual medley final so dominant, he seemed to be swimming in a different pool. American Carson Foster took bronze.
Many swimmers talk about Canadian Summer McIntosh. She won the women’s individual medley gold this week by more than five seconds. The Americans got a silver and a bronze.
In the Paris final of the 400 m freestyle, Titmus holds the world record and won gold, becoming a force of nature. Ledecky won a bronze medal.
The Australians have a lot of gold medals in Paris. Canada, China, France, Great Britain and Italy are also often besting the strongest Americans in the pool.
The night before the Olympic Games: a highlight for the U.S. swimmers after winning gold in the women’s freestyle 50 meter breaststroke
Great athletes have off days. The difference between a trip to the medal podium and a slow walk back to the locker room is often measured in hundredths of a second.
Lilly King was poised to win her second gold medal at the Olympics after winning a Preliminary heat of the women’s 100 meter breaststroke at the aquatic center here.
The women’s 3-by-200 meter freestyle relay final was won by Chinese athletes who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Asked about the controversy during press conferences after their races, Chinese swimmers denied wrongdoing and said they were being singled out for scrutiny unfairly.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has acknowledged keeping the results of positive drug tests secret, sparking a scandal that now includes a criminal probe by the U.S. Justice Department.
In the end, the most stunning moment of the night was when the Aussies dominated the U.S. in the 4-by-200 meter relay.
“We’re proud of ourselves and proud of what we’ve done,” said Douglass after her gold-medal winning race. “We don’t listen to all the outside noise, we kind of stick together.”
The results so far have been a disappointment for the U.S. American swimmers left the national trials in Indianapolis last month confident after posting blazing fast times and posting new records.
