Marchand marvellous

Jaouadi stuns with lightning-fast 800m

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SINGAPORE: Four-time Olympic gold medallist Leon Marchand returned to the global stage with a bang on Wednesday by shattering the 200 metres individual medley world record to light up day four of the world championships in Singapore.

The “French Phelps” blasted through the World Aquatics Championships Arena in one minute, 52.69 seconds in his semifinal, shaving more than 1.3 seconds off Ryan Lochte’s longstanding 1:54.00 from the 2011 event in Shanghai.

“I actually can’t really believe it right now,’ said Marchand, who also owns the 400 IM world record of 4:02.50.

“I knew I was going to get close to my PB [personal best] because I felt really good today, and the preparation has been pretty good, so I was really excited to race.

“It's unbelievable for me. What's crazy is that it’s a whole second [ahead of Lochte].

“A 1:52 on the 200 — that's insane. I’m so happy, it’s just incredible.”