Swimming

Leon Marchand Blasts 3:28.82 400 IM For Fastest Time Ever By Nearly Three Seconds

March 25, 2023

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 22-25, 2023
Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
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Expectations were sky-high for Leon Marchand in tonight’s final of the 400 IM, but he blew those out of the water.

Marchand annihilated the NCAA and U.S. Open Record by nearly three seconds in a time of 3:28.82, becoming the first swimmer sub-3:31, 3:30 and 3:29 in one fell swoop.

After breaking the NCAA and U.S. Open Record twice during the season, first breaking Hugo Gonzalez‘s mark of 3:32.88 with a 3:31.84 swim in a January dual meet before clocking 3:31.57 at Pac-12s, the idea of Marchand breaking the 3:30 barrier seemed like a possibility. But it’s now not only a reality, but so is sub-3:29.

Split Comparison

2023 ASU v. Cal	2023 Pac-12s	2023 NCAAs
22.78	22.30	21.84
48.75 (25.97)	48.20 (25.90)	47.10 (25.26)
1:15.90 (27.15)	1:15.55 (27.35)	1:13.22 (26.12)
1:42.43 (26.53)	1:42.39 (26.84)	1:39.30 (26.08)
2:11.98 (29.55)	2:11.37 (28.98)	2:08.37 (29.07)
2:41.73 (29.75)	2:41.47 (30.10)	2:37.89 (29.52)
3:07.68 (25.95)	3:07.23 (25.76)	3:03.99 (26.10)
3:31.84 (24.16)	3:31.57 (24.34)	3:28.82 (24.83)

As has been the norm this week, Marchand was very aggressive in the early stages of the race, out more than a second faster than he was at Pac-12s on fly in 47.10. He was then 52.20 on back, essentially two seconds (1.99) quicker than Pac-12s, and then he was half-a-second faster on breast (58.59) and still managed to close sub-51 on free.