Léon Marchand skips both medley events at the European Swimming Championships

Saint-Denis – 08/08/2026: Léon Marchand will compete in neither the 200 nor the 400-meter individual medley at the European Swimming Championships in Paris and Saint-Denis. The French Swimming Federation, FFN, announced on Saturday that the four-time Olympic champion has been entered in individual events only in the 400-meter freestyle and 200-meter butterfly. The federation did not give a reason for the change to his program.

The European Championships will take place from August 10 to 16, 2026. Pool swimming events will be held at the Centre Aquatique Olympique in Saint-Denis, which was built for the 2024 Olympic Games. Paris and Saint-Denis are jointly hosting the championships; other events in the overall program are scheduled at other venues in the capital.

Marchand’s withdrawal removes precisely the two disciplines in which the Frenchman has had a particularly significant impact on international swimming. He won Olympic gold in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2024 Olympic Games and holds the world record. He also became Olympic champion in the 200-meter individual medley in Paris. Both events combine butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle, placing high demands on technique, pacing and recovery.

The 24-year-old is therefore focusing on two very different challenges. In the 400-meter freestyle, Marchand will compete in an event that he had recently added more frequently to his international program. The 200-meter butterfly, meanwhile, has been among his strongest races for years. He also won Olympic gold in this discipline at the Paris 2024 Games.

Marchand’s competition schedule had already been shortened at the French Championships in Saint-Étienne at the end of June because of adductor discomfort. After his victory in the 400-meter individual medley, he withdrew from further starts at the time. However, the entry list now published for the European Championships contains no medical explanation. It cannot be determined from this whether the previous discomfort played a role in the selection of his European Championship events.

For the French team, the decision primarily changes the situation in the medley events. Given his Olympic success and world record, Marchand would have been among the most prominent participants in the championships. At the same time, his European Championship program remains demanding: the 400-meter freestyle requires endurance and precise race pacing, while the 200-meter butterfly combines a high technical workload with strength demands.

The FFN initially confirmed only Marchand’s entries for the two individual races. The first pool swimming events begin on Monday, August 10, 2026, at the Centre Aquatique Olympique in Saint-Denis.