Marchand claimed to be the next big thing in Olympic swimming

Celebrating “Michael Dressel”: How American swimmers have changed their outlooks on Olympic swimming and how they’ve changed their mindsets

It’s an honor, Marchand said, when asked about being compared to American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won the most Olympic medals with a career total of 28. “Of course, he is a legend of the swimming world – and he will always be.”

Dressel’s not alone. Throughout this Olympic tournament, star athletes have struggled; or in some races they’ve actually posted personal best times and still been outmatched by swimmers from other countries.

Katie Ledecky also dominated the women’s 1500 meter freestyle final, her signature event, and achieved a new milestone with 13 total medals — including gold, silver and bronze.

Finke came into the Paris Olympics the defending gold medal winner in the men’s 800-meter freestyle, after a breakout performance three years ago at the Tokyo Games.

Carson Foster, another American considered a strong medal contender in Paris, finished in fourth place Friday, out of medal contention in the men’s 200-meter individual medley, an event combining freestyle, back, breaststroke and butterfly.

Smith and Dressel both talked about how to shift their approach to competition, from winning a gold medal to focusing on mental health and enjoyment of sport. Dressel took eight months away from the sport in tge year.

Smith said she had “no control” over what her competitors were doing and she was disappointed by the inability to win a gold medal. I think that was a damn good swim on my part.”

Regan Smith was the lone American to medal on Friday. She finished a half-second behind Australia’s Kaylee McKeown in the women’s 200-meter backstroke final, picking up a silver medal for the U.S.

Caeleb Marchand: A National Icon in the U.S. Swimming since the 2010 Paris Games and the 2012 Summer Olympic Trials

“Very obviously not my best work,” Dressel said after the race. I haven’t been my best this week, but I don’t need to shy away from that. It’s difficult, it’s a little heartbreaking.

The mantle of America’s longstanding dominance of swimming was passed on to Caeleb Dressel by the crowd at the La Defense arena.

The young French man with a mop of blond hair has become the next big name in international Olympic swimming after a week in Paris, where he was embraced by an enamored and tumultuous home crowd.

With each victory this week, including his latest Friday night where he held up four fingers in celebration, Marchand also shattered the Olympic record.

“It was crazy,” Marchand said of his final individual performance in the men’s 200 meter individual medley final at Paris’s La Defense arena in a Paris suburb. The public was cheering again. It was my last individual race [of these Games] so I told myself I had to really enjoy it.”

The cultural moment Marchand has sparked doesn’t start to capture the public’s cheering. Some French are ambivalent about the decision to host the Olympics in Paris, but everywhere you go in the city there’s Marchand fever. Taxi drivers talk about him. Teenagers are falling in love with him. All eyes are on the tvs when he races at restaurants.

One twist to Marchand’s emergence as a national icon in France is the fact that his performance in the pool has been shaped largely by America’s long-dominant swimming system. Marchand lives in the U.S. most of the year and competed until recently in the NCAA system for Arizona State University.

What makes you tick in your heart? How lucky is it to be someone like Bob Bowman and what is his role in swimming? A tribute to Michael Phelps

“For the past two years I’ve shared a lane with him in practice,” Smith said. I’ve seen what he does every day in practice. He obviously has it physically, he’s incredibly talented. He has what he has up here so that is what sets him apart. It is unlike anyone I have ever met. This Je ne sais quois is what he has. He knows how to get the work done.

Bob Bowman, the legendary American swimming trainer who helped develop Michael Phelps’ talent, isMarchand’s coach. According to reports this week, Marchand has made his mark as one of the greatest people in history.

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.”

We talked about amazing moments here. Over the last three years, we have worked really hard. I don’t know how to progress into the next phase of my sports career. I think (Bowman) will really help me with that, because he knows a lot about it.