SINGAPORE
\nFour-time Olympic gold medallist Leon Marchand returned to the global stage with a bang on Wednesday by shattering the 200 metres individual medley world record to light up day four of the world championships in Singapore.
\nThe \u201cFrench Phelps\u201d blasted through the World Aquatics Championships Arena in one minute, 52.69 seconds in his semi-final, shaving more than 1.3 seconds off Ryan Lochte\u2019s long-standing 1:54.00 from the 2011 event in Shanghai.
\n\u201cI actually cant really believe it right now,\u201d said Marchand, who also owns the 400 IM world record of 4:02.50.
\n\u201cI knew I was going to get close to my PB (personal best) because I felt really good today, and the preparation has been pretty good, so I was really excited to race.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable for me. What\u2019s crazy is that it\u2019s a whole second (ahead of Lochte). A 1:52 on the 200 that\u2019s insane. I\u2019m so happy, it\u2019s just incredible.\u201d
\nMarchand got his world championships campaign under way on Wednesday morning, clocking a time of 1:57.63 in the heats.
\nHe said he would go all-out for the record in the semi-finals rather than conserve his energy for Thursday\u2019s final.
\nExhausted after the Paris Games where he won four individual golds, Marchand skipped the short course world championships in Hungary last December and suffered injuries before returning to the pool for the TYR Pro Series in Florida in May.
\nHe is swimming a reduced programme in Singapore, focusing on the 200 and 400 IM alone for individual events, as he works through what he calls a \u201ctransition year\u201d.
\nIf this is his transition year his rivals might wonder what he has in store for them in a normal season.
\nMarchand\u2019s world record capped a bum\u00adper night of five gold medals, with Mollie O\u2019Callaghan reclaiming her 200 freestyle crown to boost Australia\u2019s gold haul.
\nFew would have bet against O\u2019Callaghan taking back the 200 title she won in Fukuoka two years ago. The Australian delivered a dominant swim of 1:53.48 to touch the wall more than a second clear of China\u2019s silver medallist Li Bingjie. Claire Weinstein of the United States finished third (1:54.67).
\n\u201cComing here would have been one of the last things I thought I would do at the start of the year,\u201d said the 21-year-old Queenslander, who had a long rehab from a dislocated knee earlier this year.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s all worth it in the long run for me \u2026 Moments like this make it so much better.\u201d
\nTunisia celebrated a new force in distance swimming as Ahmed Jaouadi won the men\u2019s 800 freestyle in the fastest time since the supersuit era.
\nThere were shocks amid the triumphs, though, with China\u2019s world record holder Pan Zhanle coming up short in the men\u2019s 100 freestyle semi-finals, while Olympic champions the United States missed the final of the mixed medley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SINGAPORE Four-time Olympic gold medallist Leon Marchand returned to the global stage with a bang on Wednesday by shattering the 200 metres individual medley world record to light up day four of the world championships in Singapore. The \u201cFrench Phelps\u201d blasted through the World Aquatics Championships Arena in one minute, 52.69 seconds in his semi-final, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-494069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n