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Fin juillet 2023, Nicolas Castel se confie dans un article à Eurosport sur les exploits de Léon Marchand, ce qui le différencie des autres nageurs, les performances qu'on peut espérer pour le futur et surtout à Paris 2024.
"Magical! Léon Marchand is the best swimmer in the world!" (N.Castel, English Translation below).
At the end of July 2023, Nicolas Castel talks to Eurosport about Léon Marchand's achievements: in Fukuoka, Léon Marchand became the most successful French swimmer at the World Championships. Now a five-time world champion, the man from Toulouse is raising huge hopes a year ahead of the Paris Olympics. His long-standing coach, Nicolas Castel, looks back on a crazy week in Japan and tells us a little more about the new swimming star's ambitions.
Nobody knows swimmer Léon Marchand better than his coach Nicolas Castel. The Toulouse-based coach welcomed him to his club, Les Dauphins du TOEC, at the age of 7, and is still with him today, even if he now shares his prodigy with the benchmark Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps' former mentor:
" - In less than a week, Léon Marchand has won three world titles, beaten Michael Phelps' world record in the 400m im and lived up to enormous expectations. What are you most proud of today?
- N.C. (Nicolas Castel): The way we managed the week from start to finish, and the way we worked with Léon and Bob. After that, what he's done is huge. Three titles is incredible. It's magic. On the world record, I saw his lap times at every 100 m. When I turned my head, I was overjoyed.
- What are the thoughts of the coach who has accompanied this exceptional champion since he was 7 years old?
- N.C.: Yes, there's a huge sense of accomplishment. We've been through so many stages. Seeing him break the mythical world record that we once thought was unbeatable is magical. It's a moment we'll never forget. I'm not totally objective, because it's Léon and I've been training him for 13 years. But we've seen him in the 100 m relay or the 200, he's one of the most complete and fast swimmers in the 100, 200, 400. He's the best swimmer in the world at the moment.
- There are the titles and the margin over the others, because it's never a question of touching. So much so that we wonder what could happen to him at the Olympics in a year's time...
- N.C.: We don't know, it's human nature. He could be exceptional at the Olympics, or he could break an arm or a leg... Knowing him, he'll do everything he can to be even stronger, to arrive with serenity and confidence. Behind the block in Paris, he needs to be as serene as he was at the Worlds in Japan. That's what's at stake over the next twelve months. After that, you can't control the competition. He was able to shave 2 seconds off his time in the 400 im in one year, and Carson Forster can shave two or three seconds off his time in the same year, and it won't be the same story. Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that he retains this margin and his confidence.
- He deliberately chose not to compete in the 200 m breaststroke in Japan, even though he had a serious chance. Will he have to make the same choice in Paris?
- N.C.: The option we took - to keep as many doors open as possible right to the end - was the right one. We'll do the same at the Olympic Games. He'll probably qualify for the 200 m breaststroke and butterfly, the 200 and 400 im events, and maybe other races too. We'll decide at the last minute whether he'll take part or not. We already know that there are some tricky sequences in Paris. The 200 fly is on the same day as the 200 im... We can look ahead and make assumptions. But making choices a year in advance doesn't make sense.
- In France, the media and the public are really beginning to identify him, to discover his talent and potential. At the French Championships in June, he was somewhat overwhelmed by the outpouring of sympathy for him. Isn't this enormous expectation on the part of the French the main danger facing him in a year's time?
- N.C.: It's not something we're afraid of. We want to work with that. He's happy with what's happening. He's well taken care of, with his coach in France, his coach in the United States, his parents and his lawyer. We're sorting things out and protecting him. It's not an added pressure.
- What do you say to each other about the Paris Olympics?
- N.C.: We don't say much to each other about it. We don't need to talk about it, we know. I know what he wants.
The rest of the interview is in the posts below.