Swimming

Leon Marchand Drops Mind-Boggling 4:02.31 In The 500 Free To Obliterate His Own NCAA Record

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By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

2024 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The second night of action is underway at the 2024 Men’s NCAA Championships and the first event showcased an obliteration of an NCAA Record. ASU’s Leon Marchand put his hand on the wall in 4:02.31 to win the 500 freestyle, a time that represents the fastest in history by a mind-boggling 3.87 seconds.

Marchand provided a warning sign of this performance during today’s prelims, where he tore through the first 250 (2:00.81) under the old NCAA record pace (2:01.08). He visibly shut things down over the closing stages of that swim and still qualified 2nd for tonight’s final in 4:09.54.

Tonight, Marchand hit the 100 turn in 44.62 and split under 24-seconds for the first three 50s. He split 1:57.94 at the halfway mark, the first person to ever flip under the 2-minute barrier, which situated himself well over three seconds under record pace. He split under 25-seconds for all but two 50s, but his strong opening speed was responsible for most of his time drop.

At the Pac-12 Championships last month, Marchand stopped the clock in 4:06.18 to register the previous NCAA record. Before then, Florida’s Kieran Smith was the record holder, courtesy of his 4:06.32 efforts at both the 2020 & 2021 SEC Championships.

Splits Comparison:

MARCHAND, 2024 NCAAS MARCHAND, 2024 PAC-12S SMITH, 2020 SECS SMITH, 2021 SECS
50 21.09 22.04 22.45 22.04
100 44.62 (23.53) 46.32 (24.28) 47.28 (24.83) 46.31 (24.27)
150 1:08.61 (23.99) 1:10.83 (24.51) 1:12.07 (24.79) 1:10.81 (24.50)
200 1:33.12 (24.51) 1:35.85 (25.02) 1:37.08 (25.01) 1:35.70 (24.89)
250 1:57.94 (24.82) 2:01.08 (25.23) 2:02.25 (25.17) 2:00.86 (25.16)
300 2:22.31 (24.37) 2:25.81 (24.73) 2:27.35 (25.10) 2:26.23 (25.37)
350 2:47.18 (24.87) 2:50.62 (24.81) 2:52.40 (25.05) 2:51.53 (25.30)
400 3:12.30 (25.12) 3:15.66 (25.04) 3:17.25 (24.85) 3:16.90 (25.37)
450 3:37.76 (25.46) 3:41.42 (25.76) 3:42.19 (24.94) 3:42.06 (25.16)
500 4:02.31 (24.55) 4:06.18 (24.76) 4:06.32 (24.13) 4:06.32 (24.26)

500 YARD FREESTYLE — FINAL

  • NCAA Record: 4:06.18— Leon Marchand, ASU (2023)
  • Meet Record: 4:06.61 — Matthew Sates, Georgia (2022)
  • American Record: 4:06.32 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2020)
  • U.S. Open Record: 4:06.18— Leon Marchand, ASU (2023)
  • Pool Record: 4:08.42 — Clark Smith, Texas (2017)
  • 2023 Champion: 4:07.37 – Luke Hobson, Texas

Top 8:

  1. Leon Marchand (Arizona State) — 4:02.31 *NCAA, U.S. Open, Meet, Pool Records* 
  2. Luke Hobson (Texas) — 4:06.93
  3. Jake Magahey (Georgia) — 4:07.12
  4. Gabriel Jett (Cal) — 4:10.68
  5. Charlie Hawke (Alabama) — 4:11.40
  6. Jack Hoagland (SMU) — 4:12.65
  7. Coby Carrozza (Texas) — 4:13.33
  8. Mason Mathias (Auburn) — 4:14.00

SwimSwam: Leon Marchand Drops Mind-Boggling 4:02.31 In The 500 Free To Obliterate His Own NCAA Record

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