Léon Marchand's "little madness" after his Olympic triumph
Léon Marchand's life has changed since August 2024 and his highly publicized triumph at the Paris Olympics, where he was the big French star with his 5 medals, including 4 individual titles (gold in the 400m medley, 200m medley, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke). The Toulouse native had to deal with this newfound celebrity, a difficulty for someone described as rather taciturn and discreet.
The choice was therefore simple: leave France quickly, first for a vacation and then a long trip to Australia where he joined the group of renowned Australian coach Dean Boxall, trainer of Australian star Ariarne Titmus. Since the spring, Léon Marchand has been reunited with his American coach Bob Bowman in Austin with a view to preparing for the World Championships in Singapore where he is "only" competing in the 200m medley and 400m medley.
This new life has, however, come with new obligations... and lucrative new contracts. An ambassador for LVMH, then Omega and Louis Vuitton since the beginning of 2024, Léon Marchand has recently become the face of Nike. "Léon Marchand can ask for more than a million a year per contract: some have positioned themselves on these amounts , " an expert had thus affirmed in the columns of La Tribune at the end of 2024.
Enough to treat yourself to a few extras? Clearly not the character's style, even if his loved ones recently conceded a little extravagance on the evening of his first Olympic victory in Paris. While he enjoyed a discreet apartment a stone's throw from La Défense Arena to limit the long journeys to the Olympic village in Saint-Denis, Léon Marchand also had his own chef during the Games via menus strictly concocted by a nutritionist from INSEP, Charline Courtois... "There weren't a lot of corrections on his part," the dietician-nutritionist told L'Equipe. "I just had to readjust the cooking method of one or two dishes that he found too fatty and took too long to digest."
So, no vets except on the evening of the 400m medley final! While the initial menu included a potato tortilla and green beans, as well as unsweetened rice pudding and roasted nectarines for dessert, Léon Marchand, freshly adorned with gold, deviated from his champion's diet that evening.
"He said to me: frankly, finally, I'd like to have a good burger," recalls Rémi Duhautois, director of high-level at the French Swimming Federation and responsible for looking after the champion during Olympic week, in the columns of L'Equipe . "I called and we changed immediately."
"It's true that there were a few burgers and fried noodles that weren't on the list. And sometimes very late, but he was hungry, he had to eat. It was with pleasure. With what he was making us live, I couldn't say no," says David Dalmas, the chef of the restaurant "Les Bambins" in charge of deliveries. Two days later, Léon Marchand achieved a historic double in one hour in the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke. A sign that the burger had been well digested...
L'Internaute
