Magic Marchand delivers 400 metres IM gold for France

PARIS : World record holder Leon Marchand claimed the 400 metres individual medley gold medal at his home Paris Olympics on Sunday to send fans into delirium at La Defense Arena.

The 22-year-old, nicknamed the "French Michael Phelps", carried the expectations of a nation into his first event but he simply crushed his rivals in a swim of four minutes and 2.95 seconds that broke the Olympic record and flirted with his own world record mark.

It was not so much a contest as a coronation for Marchand, with Japan's silver medallist Tomoyuki Matsushita more than six seconds adrift. American Carson Foster took the bronze.

Prepared by Bob Bowman, the coach who turned American Phelps into a gold medal machine, Marchand will bid for another three individual events as the face of his home Games.

Phelps, working with U.S. broadcaster NBC at the Games, watched on at the stadium as his would-be successor was feted by the home fans.

The terraces were festooned with tricolore flags, and the fans generated a deafening roar as Marchand sped to the wall in the final freestyle leg.