It’s not a surprise that France’s Léon Marchand is one of the best swimmers in the world. Marchand won four gold medals at the 2024 Olympics, destroying the competition and announcing himself as a dominant force in the sport.
He took that a step further Wednesday. Marchand set a new standard in the 200m individual medley Wednesday, not only beating Ryan Lochte’s record, but obliterating it by more than a second.
Marchand finished with a time of 1:52.69 during the semifinals Wednesday. The previous record, which was held by Lochte, was 1:54.00. Lochte set that record at the World Championships in 2011.
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With the win in the semifinals, Marchand will look to carry his success over to the final Thursday. Marchand won the 200m individual medley at the World Championships in both 2022 and 2023, and will look for his third gold in the event Thursday.
Luca Urlando takes home gold in 200m butterfly
The 200m butterfly has proved an elusive event for Team USA on the men’s side following Michael Phelps’ retirement. No American man had medaled in the event since 2011, Phelps’ last time winning the 200m butterfly at the World Championships.
But that changed Wednesday, as Luca Urlando came away with the gold. Urlando posted a 1:51:87 time, beating Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski and Australia’s Harrison Turner for the top spot.
Chmielewski finished second with a time of 1:52:64. Turner came in third, posting a 1:54:17 time.
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The win is a long time coming for Urlando, who was on the rise before a shoulder injury derailed him in 2022.
With the win, Urlando becomes the first American man to pick up a gold medal at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. The team struggled early at the event due to an illness that caused a number of swimmers to pull out of events or post slower times than usual. The team has recovered since then, with the women leading the way. Gretchen Walsh and Katie Ledecky are among the Team USA women to pick up gold medals at the World Championships so far.
Jack Alexy sets new American record in 100m freestyle
American Jack Alexy looked strong during 100m freestyle prelims Wednesday. Alexy turned in an incredible time of 46.81, setting an American record.
Alexy’s time narrowly beat Caeleb Dressel’s 46.96 from the 2019 World Championships.
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It was an impressive performance by Alexy, but it didn’t result in a medal … yet. Alexy still needs to compete in the final. If he can recapture his semifinal performance, Alexy could walk away from the 100m freestyle with a medal.
His job did get somewhat easier Wednesday after 100m freestyle favorite Pan Zhanle was surprisingly eliminated after a poor performance in the semis.
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