In the middle of the quarter-final between Brazil and the NBA stars of Team USA, the arrival of one man managed to make the 20,000 spectators at the Arena Bercy forget about the match. His name? Léon Marchand of course…
There is Léon Marchand. And far (very) far away, there are the others. This Tuesday, while the NBA stars of Team USA were strolling against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament, the emergence of the French swimming star once again proved to what extent he had become THE undisputed star of these Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
As soon as he entered the arena, which he had perhaps hoped would be discreet, a rumor began to rise. A rumor that became a clamour, then fury. Crazy about its quadruple Olympic champion, the Arena Bercy then began to chant his name, making him completely forget that it had before its eyes the world’s greatest basketball stars.
“Wouldn’t that be that swimmer?
Léon Marchand, amused by this new proof of his ultra-popularity, then greeted the audience with a smile. But on the court, another athlete thanked the audience, probably convinced that this applause was intended for him: Lebron James, the living god of the NBA who had just taken his place on the bench at that moment, also waved his hand in the direction of the audience to say thank you. Or when Leon-mania crushes the biggest stars of world sport with all its weight.
On American television, the commentators took a while to understand what was happening before their eyes. “But who are they applauding? There’s someone who seems to be getting up over there… Wait, isn’t that the swimmer? Yes, it’s Léon Marchand, the French swimmer!”, we can hear the journalists saying in this excerpt. We’ll have to get used to it: in Paris in this month of August 2024, even Lebron James is no match for Léon Marchand.