One of the champions is unlikely to lap up adoration or show an overwhelming emotion in the pool. The other is all strut.
Both styles were on display Wednesday night at La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France, where Frenchman Leon Marchand and American Katie Ledecky added to their growing medal collections.
Marchand, 22, became the first swimmer in 48 years to win two individual gold medals on the same day. Marchard, who had already won a gold, his first Olympic medal, on Sunday in the 400-m individual medley, started off his night by catching Hungarian Kristof Milak with a finishing kick in the 200-m butterfly that sent the capacity crowd of 17,000 into a delirium that caused at least one person in the arena—OK, me—to cover his ears. It was the loudest indoor sports event I’ve ever been to, and I’ll never forget it.
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“I wasn’t ignoring it,” said Marchand of the screams. “That’s why I was able to win that race. [I] really used that energy from the crowd.”
He walked out of the pool, chest out, arms akimbo. He couldn’t celebrate too much: Marchand, who attends Arizona State University and trains with Micheal Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman, in the United States, left his 200-m butterfly victory ceremony early to prepare for his next race of the evening, the 200-m breastroke.
“I was able to enjoy it, without losing too much energy,” Marchand said.
When, less than an hour later, Katie Ledecky slapped the water in delight after setting a new Olympic record in the 1,500-m freestyle, her signature race, the gesture may well have been the equivalent of spiking the football, pointing at an opponent, and doing a backflip in the end zone.
“I was just happy with the time and happy with how it felt,” said the typically mild-mannered American superstar on…
