A man from another planet in love with space: As a boy he was afraid of cold water, now he pushes the limits in the pool

Born in Toulouse, a city on the Garonne River that is connected to the sea and the ocean by many canals, Leon Marchant was somehow destined to fall in love with water and swimming. Especially considering that his parents were also top swimmers.

The skinny boy, however, was not thrilled with the pools, saying that the water was too cold and that he did not enjoy it. Because of all this, he briefly gave up swimming, but fortunately for all the French and all those who love sports, he returned and became a legend.

Even though he is only 23 years old.

Two years ago in Fukuoka, he broke the last record of the great Michael Phelps in the 400-meter individual medley, last summer with four Olympic gold medals he was the biggest hero of the home nation during the Paris Games, and this year he made sure that a 14-year-old record fell.

After the Olympic spectacle in his country, when he managed to unite all of France, he decided to reduce the number of competitions and performances due to the World Championships in Singapore, and it paid off.

In the semifinals, he swam the 200-meter individual medley in an unreal 1:52.69, thus sending Ryan Lochte's 1:54.00 from Shanghai 2011 into history. A day later, he went faster than Lochte's record again (1:53.68), which was enough for him for another world championship.

"It was great, these are special races in Singapore, but the rivals also made me do well. Domination? It must be a good feeling," said Marchan.

And the best indication of how dominant he is is that he has won 12 medals from the Olympic Games and world championships so far - 10 gold, one silver, and the bronze came in the relay.

Besides being a man from another planet when it comes to swimming, Marchan is someone who is in love with space and astronomy, and as successful as he is in the pool, he was just as successful at university. He was an excellent computer science student at the University of Arizona, where he also trained in swimming.

For many, he is the French Michael Phelps, and what they have in common is that they were trained by the same coach - the great Bob Bauman.

"The Baltimore Bullet" was a story unto itself, the greatest of all time, and Marchand is its prime successor.

Because of all this, France is proudly singing "La Marseillaise" this summer thanks to its hero, a boy who overcame his fear of cold water and became a legend.