Léon Marchand captures 4th Olympic swimming gold, setting off a party across Paris

AP National Writer

NANTERRE, France (AP) — Léon Marchand completed his dominating run through the Paris Olympics, capturing his fourth swimming gold with another runaway victory in the 200-meter individual medley Friday night. The 22-year-old French star left no doubt he’ll be remembered as one of the biggest stars of the Summer Games in his home country. He touched in an Olympic record of 1 minute, 54.06 seconds, just missing Ryan Lochte’s 13-year-old world mark. That was about the only thing he didn’t accomplish at La Defense Arena, where he had previously won the 400 IM, 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke — the latter two about two hours apart in the same night. Before Marchand’s triumph, Cameron McEvoy and Kaylee McKeown captured more gold for Australia. The team from Down Under now has seven golds, more than any other country.