2026 Pro Swim Series — Westmont: Marchand wins double, Ledecky tops McIntosh in 800m freestyle
Leon Marchand completed an impressive double at the Westmont Pro Swim on Wednesday, winning the 200m backstroke and 200m breaststroke as Katie Ledecky topped Summer McIntosh in the 800m freestyle.
French Olympic star Marchand, now training with former Michael Phelps mentor Bob Bowman in Texas, launched his week with a victory in the 200m backstroke in 1min 57.56sec with Canadian Blake Tierney second in 1:58.61.
He returned to win the 200m breaststroke — one of his four gold medal events at the 2024 Paris Olympics — in 2:10.06 with Josh Matheny second in 2:10.71 and Jack Kelly — Marchand’s training partner in Texas — third in 2:10.96 after leading much of the way.
The meet in suburban Chicago opened with a bang as America’s nine-time Olympic gold medallist Ledecky beat McIntosh in the 800m free in a battle of the fastest two performers in the history of the event.
Ledecky clocked 8:08.57 with Canada’s McIntosh second in 8:10.57. Brazilian Maria Fernanda Costa was a distant third in 8:29.41.
It was the first meeting at the distance between Ledecky and McIntosh since Ledecky won gold at the World Championships in Singapore last year, beating Australian Lani Pallister and McIntosh to become the first swimmer to capture a seventh world title in one event.
Published on Mar 05, 2026