200 m individual medley, men

What to remember

In 1959, the long course 200 m individual medley record belonged to Lance Larson, at 2 min 24.7 s. On July 30, 2025, in the semi-finals of the World Championships in Singapore, Léon Marchand swam the same distance in 1 min 52.69 s.

Between those two marks, the change reaches 22.1% over 66 years. The progression reads decade by decade: Gary Hall Sr. in 1969, Jesse Vassallo in 1979, David Wharton in 1989 at 2 min 00.11 s, then Jani Sievinen in 1994, below two minutes. Ryan Lochte then set the record in 2009 and in 2011, with 1 min 54.00 s for the 2011 mark. The first long course world record in the event was recognised by the International Swimming Federation in 1956, followed by the women a year later.

Born in Toulouse, Marchand specialises in medley, breaststroke and butterfly. At the Paris 2024 Games he was the most decorated athlete, with four gold medals. His first Olympic appearance had come in Tokyo in 2021, where he finished sixth in the 400 m medley.