Marchand leads 200m IM heats in triumphant World Championships return

SINGAPORE: France’s Leon Marchand made a commanding return to the world stage on Wednesday, clocking the fastest time in the 200 metres individual medley (IM) heats at the World Championships in Singapore. The four-time Olympic gold medallist finished in 1:57.63, edging Japan’s Kosuke Makino by 0.11 seconds.

After skipping last year’s short course world championships due to exhaustion and injury, Marchand’s performance marks an encouraging start to his pursuit of a third world title in the event — and potentially a new world record. Now focusing solely on the 200 and 400 IM events in what he calls a “transition year,” Marchand is easing back into competition with poise and power.

Meanwhile, Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh continued her quest to equal Michael Phelps’s record of five individual world titles in a single edition. The 18-year-old, already a double gold medallist in Singapore, was quickest in the 200m butterfly heats at 2:07.07. American Regan Smith and China’s 12-year-old rising star Yu Zidi also advanced to the semis.

Elsewhere, Romania’s David Popovici began his campaign to reclaim sprint dominance, eyeing a repeat of his 100m and 200m freestyle double from Budapest 2022.