LEDECKY, MARCHAND MAKE HISTORY

American wins her 8th gold, France’s home hero does unprecedented 200m double

- 

French poster boy Leon Marchand and American distance dynamo Katie Ledecky made history on July 31, while the Paris pool saw its first world record on one of the great nights of Olympic swimming.

China's Pan Zhanle ended the programme with a firecracker, the 19-year-old teenager obliterating his own 100m freestyle world record to take his country's first swimming gold of the meet.

Before that, Marchand sent sound levels off the scale at Paris La Defense Arena as he pulled off an unprecedented 200m butterfly and breaststroke double with a medal ceremony in between.

Both his swims were completed in Olympic record time, a remarkable feat in two of the most tiring and demanding disciplines. Until July 31, no swimmer had managed to medal in both.

"It was pretty crazy to have the chance to be in the final in both races," the 22-year-old said.