Marchand drops 200 butterfly, breaststroke for world championships

Four-time Olympic champion Leon Marchand will only compete in the 200 and 400 metres individual medley events at the world championships in Singapore after opting out of the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke, his coach Nicolas Castel said.

The 23-year-old Frenchman won gold in the 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 200 and 400 IM at the Paris Games, as well as a bronze in 4x100m medley.

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“He won’t be doing the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke,” Castel told Franceinfo on Monday.

“It’s a choice we made because we’re in a post-Olympic year and he’s never had the opportunity to do a 200m medley without having a race before or after it on the same day. He wanted to test this isolated 200m medley and see what he was capable of.”

The swimming events at the world championships will take place in Singapore from July 27 to August 3.