France’s Leon Marchand Rules the Pool in Paris
Swimmer Earns Fourth Gold Medal in 200M Individual Final

The King of Swimming in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is not from the United States. Leon Marchand of France wears the crown after winning his fourth gold medal on Friday. Marchand Dominates Olympic Swimming with this remarkable achievement. He added the 200m Individual to his 400m medley title, as well as the 200m butterfly and breaststroke golds.
LEON MARCHAND WINS A FOURTH GOLD 🥇🇫🇷
Victory in the men’s 200m individual final.#BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/y0yWfoOUO8
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 2, 2024
Marchand joins Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, and Kristen Otto as those who have won four or more individual swimming medals at an Olympics. In Olympic news on Wednesday, Marchand became the first French swimmer to win multiple individual gold medals at one Games. His coach for one year at Arizona State was Bob Bowman. Yes, the same Bowman who mentored Phelps through his astounding career. Bowman now is swimming coach at Texas.
“We just watched him get in [the pool] and we watched him kick underwater, and it felt like we had just hit the jackpot” Herbie Behm, who began coaching Marchand at Arizona State in 2021, told ESPN. “Watching the first time he pushed off the wall, just how he kicks, how he moves. It’s like, ‘Wow, this kid is so good.’ We knew he was going to be the best short-course [the 25-yard length pool used for collegiate competitions] swimmer of all time.”
Marchand Dominates Olympic Swimming and has a chance for another gold on Sunday, the final day in the pool for these Olympians. He will be on France’s 4X100 relay team. At this point, it isn’t wise to bet against him or his teammates.

Track and Field Gets Underway Quickly for Team USA
The USA is out of the blocks fast in the Paris Olympics track & field heats. Sha’Carri Richardson blew away her opponents in a 100-meter heat, winning in 10.94.
In the relays, Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Kaylyn Brown, and Bryce Deadmon set a world record of 3:07.41 in a trial for the 4X400. This was a new event in the Olympics, a mixed relay team.
“We knew what the record was, and we knew what it was going to take” Norwood said. “Our job was just to come out and execute. Tomorrow we’re going to do it again.”
A different U.S. team set the previous record (3:08.80) at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.This team will go for gold and look to make more U.S. Olympic news on Saturday.
USA Soccer Gets Booted from Tournament
The problems for the U.S. on the soccer pitch in international competitions continue. The men’s soccer team will leave Paris sans medals. The U.S. men were ousted convincingly by Morocco on Friday.
The 4-0 defeat meant the USA had been outscored 7-0 in the matches against France and Morocco, the toughest teams in the group. This comes off an embarrassing early ouster in the Copa America tournament. The difference about the Olympics is most players need to be under 23.
The World Cup is on the horizon in 2026 and with the U.S. as one of the host countries with Mexico and Canada, the future is bleaker than brighter unless there is a dramatic turn.
France Boasts Judo Icon, Too
Teddy Riner became the second three-time individual Olympic gold medalist in judo history. The 35-year-old French heavyweight defeated South Korea’s Kim Min-jong for the gold in his fifth Olympics. Riner is an 11-time world champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist.
🥋 L’attaque est parfaite. Le plan est tellement beau avec les supporters qui se lèvent derrière 🤩
Bravo Teddy Riner tu es immense ⭐️🥇🇫🇷#JeuxOlympiques pic.twitter.com/wh6kfbn9po
— Charles (@CharlesPerrier) August 2, 2024
Boxing Controversy Continues
The gender issue – discussion? – in the boxing ring continued on Friday. China’s Lin Yu-ting won her match by unanimous points. There was far less drama than the day before when Algerian Imane Khelif won over Angela Carini. The Italian retired after 46 seconds.
After the bout, Carini backed off her strong comments and apologized for insulting Khelif.
“It wasn’t something I intended to do” Carini told the Italian publication, per the AP. “Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
Carini added that if she and Khelif met again, she would “embrace her.” Not quite sure a hug would diminish the furor created after Carini exited her bout in less than a minute and spoke out.
Khelif will fight again on Saturday.
Men’s Tennis Final a Brilliant Matchup
The men’s tennis final could easily be the final in a Grand Slam matchup. In Olympic tennis news, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will play for the gold. Alcaraz comes into the final with wins in the French – at Roland Garros – and Wimbledon. Combined they have won 22 of their last 23 matches with the lone defeat coming when Alcaraz downed Djokovic for the Wimbledon crown. This will be a fascinating match and will certainly tempt those who follow sports betting odds.
Marchand Dominates Olympic Swimming with a stellar performance, placing him among the greats in the sport. As he continues to compete, the world watches to see if he will add to his already impressive medal count.
Country | 🥇 | 🥈 | 🥉 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
China | 13 | 9 | 9 | 31 |
France | 11 | 12 | 13 | 36 |
Australia | 11 | 6 | 5 | 22 |
USA | 9 | 18 | 16 | 43 |