Olympian Léon Marchand
He's a GOAT, we love him, and so does France!
I admit that Léon Marchand was not on my radar as the 2024 summer Olympics began. I knew the names of the North American women who were either dominating swimming or were up-and-coming in the sport—Katie Ledecky, Summer McIntosh, and Katie Grimes. Then I woke up to a headline about a French swimmer, Léon Marchand, doing something amazing!
Marchand had never won an Olympic medal prior to the 2024 summer games. Then he won 4 golds in Paris: 200m breast stroke, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley. I missed the live races but streamed the replays - what an incredible athlete! Marchand’s performance (4 medals in an individual Olympic Games) matched the achievements of two legends in the sport, Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps!
The Athletic, a sports-news digest published by the New York Times, did a great story on Marchand this week. And one of the best part of the story is that there’s a little language lesson in the comments. The article says that the enthusiastic Olympic crowds shout “Olé!” to encourage Marchand as he swims. A (no doubt French) reader posted a correction in the comments section, “I think you’ll find they shout ‘Allez’ not “Olé” (see image below). For the non-French speakers, Allez! means “Go!” and is frequently used to cheer on athletes, Olé! is Spanish and is used for the same purpose. The article in The Athletic has since been revised and that sentence removed; I love it—it wouldn’t be French without a little argument about grammar!
Another detail I love about Marchand’s success in the games is the crowd changing the lyrics of the French National Anthem, La Marseillais from “Marchons, Marchons” (“let’s march, let’s march”) to “Marchand, Marchand”. For now, let’s ignore the rest of the verse with its references to impure blood watering the furrows, it’s a bit MAGA-esque for my taste. It’s fun to see the host country so excited about an athlete. The Marchand fans at the swimming center got so loud that other sports had to delay their starts because of the noise!
The Olympics have been a great way to delve into another area of French culture that I wouldn’t have otherwise explored in any depth. The coverage of Léon Marchand has reinforced my affection for France as I watch the French rally around their local heroes and also watch them do such a marvelous job hosting the games. Carolyn will tell you, I love a good host.
Jusqu’à la prochaine fois.
Roberto & Carolyn
Oui oui oui! Allez blue!
I think a lot of non-French people who speak even basic French might figure out that it wasn't "Olé" but "Allez." I'm surprised the NYT didn't, but editing isn't what it used to be.