Léon Marchand fears the Japanese next generation for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics

Léon Marchand, quadruple Olympic champion in Paris in 2024, said Tuesday on the sidelines of the Asian Games in Japan that he feared the young Japanese swimmers he would have to face at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Running a children's camp in Tokyo between the morning and evening swimming sessions of the Asian Games, Marchand took the opportunity to watch Shin Ohashi and Tomoyuki Matsushita swim in particular. “I always watch what they're doing during the season because I have to keep up to date with what's going on in the swimming world. They (Ohashi and Matsushita) have been swimming very well the last two years. They are to be feared, but it is also motivating for me,” Marchand told a few Japanese journalists.

Matsushita won the 200m medley at the Asian Games and is in the final of the 400m medley on Tuesday, two events in which Marchand is the reigning Olympic champion and for which he holds the world records. “I think he will be one of my main rivals,” Marchand said about him.

At 17, Ohashi won the 100m breaststroke in Tokyo and is aiming for the world record in the 200m breaststroke. Marchand won gold over the distance in Paris in 2024. “I can't wait to face him even if I'm nervous at the idea,” finally affirmed the Frenchman.