Coach Bob Bowman hails 'perfect' Leon Marchand as Frenchman claims fourth Gold

  

Bob Bowman, coach of Leon Marchand and France, reacts during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at Paris La Defense Arena.

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Coach Bob Bowman claimed that after Leon Marchand, 22, stunningly won gold in every event he competed in at the Paris Games, the French swimmer handled the pressure of competing and delivering on home soil in the Olympics flawlessly.

Marchand raced to the top of the individual athlete medal tables in France after winning the 400-meter individual medley, 200-meter butterfly, and 200-meter breaststroke all in the same evening. On Friday, he won the 200-meter individual medley.

"This is an amazing turn of events. I think he performed as well as we could have expected him to given the circumstances, the lead-up, and the preparation," Bowman told reporters.
Between each race, he managed himself better than anyone could have. Thus, it was an absolute triumph... He is just utterly prosperous. I'm so proud of him since perfection requires a lot."

Marchand "manages himself very well," according to Bowman, the Olympic great Michael Phelps' coach. He knows exactly what to do with his warm-ups, practice times, recovery process, and food. The seasoned coach added that swimming on home soil undoubtedly helped as Marchand's 200-meter individual medley record from 2008 gave the enthusiastic audience at La Defense Arena their money's worth. "I believe the closest I've seen was possibly when Ian Thorpe swam in Sydney in 2000. I recall feeling as though the structure was trembling and it looked like this when Thorpe swam the 400 meters there," he recalled.

According to Bowman, the Frenchman was only getting started and might go on to compete in other swimming competitions, such as the 100-meter butterfly, as he becomes older and stronger.

Bowman remarked, "I think he can break (records) in other events." "By not breaking that one, he provided me some ammunition for the entire following year. I take it that we now have a goal? We have objectives to strive toward." Nevertheless, Marchand will take a few weeks off to reflect on his accomplishments and adjust to his newfound notoriety as the athlete who lit up France's home Olympics. Bowman expressed his wish that his student stays grounded. "For the first time, Leon's going to go out into this environment in a very different life situation than he was before," he stated.

"I'll attempt to get him back eventually, and after about six weeks, we'll see if we can't get him going. He does, however, get a respite for the time being because he truly needs one. He requires both a physical and emotional vacation."

Real Madrid vs Barcelona, 2024 pre-season: Predicted lineups

 

Militao, Rodrygo and Vinicius could all get some minutes.

        Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona face off in New York City, and while this will only be yet another preparation game for both sides, El Clasico always provides a good opportunity to make a statement.

Real Madrid predicted XI: Courtois, Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Fran Garcia, Modric, Guler, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Brahim, Endrick.

FC Barcelona predicted XI: Ter Stegen, Fort, Lenglet, Iñigo, Balde, Casado, Bernal, Torre, Victor, Hernandez, Lewandowski.

Arda Güler is expected to start as a central midfielder, which will be an interesting challenge for him. Can he be as effective and incisive playing there or should he be an attacker?

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM PRE-SEASON EL CLASICO AGAINST FC BARCELONA

Date: 08/03/2024

Time: 01:00 CET, 07:00pm EST (local).

Venue: MetLife Stadium, New York, USA.

Available TV: Movistar Champions Tour.

Available Streaming: ESPN+

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Chelsea vs Manchester City, Preseason Friendly: Preview, team news, how to watch

 

              Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

With three games completed and three left in this intense preseason schedule, head coach Enzo Maresca has already expressed his displeasure with the team's workload. We haven't even kicked a ball in retaliation! However, we had best get accustomed to it as European football is back on the menu (if we make it to the actual Europa Conference group stage).
Speaking of adjusting, Chelsea looked far better on Wednesday than they did in our opening two friendlies, displaying notable advancements in the way they implemented Maresca's tactical scheme. But when it comes to tests, few are as difficult as Manchester City, who play a version of this style and have done so at the best level for many seasons—preseason or not.
Thus, concentrate on execution and fitness. In addition, a sneak peek at our first Premier League game, which takes place in just over two weeks. Nearly thrilling!

Paris 2024 sailing: All results, as Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz from Netherlands win women's skiff pair Gold

Netherland's women's skiff world champions Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz added Olympic gold to their collection in sailing at the Paris 2024 regatta in Marseille despite an error that saw the pair stop prematurely, thinking they had crossed the finish line.

On home water, Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon of France took home bronze with 79 points, while Vilma Bobeck and Rebecca Netzler of Sweden grabbed silver with 76 points against the Netherlands' 74.

 

Dutch crew recover after stopping too early

Up to the medal race for the skiff races on Friday, August 2, 2024, sailing activities at Paris 2024 were affected by unpredictable circumstances. Up to the crucial medal race—which awarded double points—twelve races had been completed.  With two top ten results the day before, French duo Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon had gained the lead off the coast of Marseille. With confidence that their performance would be sufficient to win gold, the Netherlands led the whole medal race and appeared to be sailing peacefully past the finish line and into celebration. But when they realized they had stopped sprinting too soon, believing they had passed the finish line, panic broke out. They rebounded fast, but not before Italy and Sweden came through to win the crucial match in first and second place. Third place Netherlands were anxiously awaiting the points shakedown to determine medal spots.

The Dutch crew's gold medal was verified, and they let out screams of joy and relief, while the Swedish pair—who were the 2023 world champions—were busy celebrating their silver.

After the race, van Aanholt commented, "It's crazy and a bit unbelievable but so, so good," before talking about the commotion at the finish.

"We knew something was amiss when we passed the finish line without hearing a trumpet, so it was a little strange. We are rather pleased with our tenacity there. As a team, we acted quickly to decide, "Okay, this is plan B. Let's go." We were unable to have ultimately performed it any better. It's just a relief, then. I am incredibly joyful."

Netzler, the silver medallist, said: "It feels amazing. It's hard to believe how empty we are at the moment. Everyone is here, including our relatives."

With a well-earned bronze, France was also thrilled. An emotional Steyaert commented on coming out of retirement for a home Games, saying, "It's incredible." I returned since it took place in Marseille and we only won one medal. I'm overjoyed."

Picon, one of her compatriots, had actually realized her goal.

"I predicted that we would win bronze at breakfast on the first day of the race as I had dreamed about it that night. We won the bronze so everything we accomplished this week has me ecstatic."

The two-time Olympic gold medalists from Brazil, Martine Soffiatti Grael and Kahena Kunze, were not able to repeat their success in the event, placing fifth in the medal race and eighth overall.

podium for women's skiffs:

Gold: Annette Duetz and Odile van Aanholt (both Netherlands)

Silver: Rebecca Netzler and Vilma Bobeck (Sweden)

Bronze: Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon (France)

See all the results on Olympics.com.