Léon Marchand on four-hour daily training in Austin; Bowman quotes drive start of sessions

Swimming: Léon Marchand on boredom, Bob Bowman’s philosophy quotes and what runs through his head for four hours a day

In a long interview with L’Équipe, Léon Marchand talked about his passions and the many facets of his personality. The swimmer, a five-time medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, looked in particular at his relationship with boredom and the thoughts that accompany him during his training sessions.

Léon Marchand spends four hours a day in the water with nothing to listen to but himself.

He has learned to like it.

The four-time Olympic Games Paris 2024 champion gave a long interview to L’Équipe , published Tuesday (1 September), covering his passions, his personality and what actually goes through his head during a swimming session.

“I’ve eaten in restaurants alone, I’ve been to the cinema alone, I’ve done activities alone. I’ve never had a problem with that,” Marchand told L’Équipe. “I’m comfortable that way, and when I’m alone I recharge. I’m not someone who takes energy from other people. I need that solitude.

“That’s boredom. It’s really important to be bored. When you manage to stay properly with yourself while being bored, I find that’s a powerful thing, and that’s when you really think. In my sport we’re more or less forced into it. We don’t talk. Two hours of training in the morning, two hours in the evening, on your own. Luckily I get on well with what’s going on up there! Otherwise it’s very complicated.”

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The thinking isn’t the same the whole way through. Marchand described a session in three parts.

It starts with his coach’s handwriting. Bob Bowman writes a line at the bottom of every training sheet.

“He reads a lot, so it’s often phrases about motivation, well-being, wisdom. Phrases that come from stoicism, from philosophy,” Marchand said. “It might sound ordinary, but it gets into my head. At the start of the session, for 20, 30 minutes, that phrase occupies my mind.”

Then the serious work starts, and the thoughts stop.

“Time speeds up and, I won’t lie to you, I’m not thinking about anything any more. We’re breathing hard, the noise is different, we can’t really see each other, we’re less and less lucid, we just keep going.”

Clarity comes back on the warm-down.

“I can easily be thinking about what I’m going to cook that evening, the homework I was supposed to do, what time the train is tomorrow, logistical stuff that isn’t much fun. Sometimes I get songs. Other times, images. I have time to think about something else.”

He would rather not have the time.

“It’s going to sound strange to say this, but I prefer it when it’s hard, when it’s stimulating. When it’s long, a bit easy, with no challenge, time drags on and on. The demand makes time pass faster… But it’s true we don’t even have music, nothing. It’s a pain.”

Which is where his training group in Austin comes in.

“I couldn’t train alone. Having a guy next to me who can race at any moment… Or working out a new way of doing something… I always find something to have fun with. I hope it lasts a while longer.”

Leon Marchand (FRA) | Swimming | Athlete Profile

When Leon Marchand (FRA) raced at Paris 2024 the whole of France came to standstill. Marchand’s incredible haul of four gold medals and one bronze included winning two individual events (200m Butterfly and 200m Breaststroke) in the same session. Marchand also won gold in the 200m and 400m Individual Medleys.

Picture by Salomon Micko Benrimoh