When Léon Marchand considers that he has finished swimming, he will have a fallback solution. Sunday evening, the French swimmer announced on Instagram that he had validated his diploma in software engineering. No lengthy explanations, just photos of his loved ones, of himself – dressed in the traditional graduation gown – and two words: “Software engineer”.
Beyond worrying the clocks and the public from the Olympic pool, Marchand found the time to complete his studies at the American University Arizona State. The four-time Olympic champion had already excelled at high school, from which he graduated with a scientific baccalaureate with honors. He had also studied at Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier University.
Congratulated by Agbégnénou
The 23-year-old Toulouse not only received encouragement from those close to him. He was also congratulated by judoka Clarisse Agbégnénou, his trainer Bob Bowman and comedian Freddy Gladieux. Considering his career, his ability to combine studies and high-level sport is not that surprising. He already demonstrated the importance of continuing his training two years before his raid on the 2024 Olympic Games.
“Last year, I only had swimming because I wanted to focus on the Tokyo Games (6th in the 400m medley), I don’t regret it at all, he confided to Le Parisien in 2022. But I thought about that all day. If I was bad at training, I was going to think about it. So, the next day, I came back less refreshed. There, it’s well laid out, I know that I have something behind me, that in three years I can get my diploma and have a job if things go badly in the pools. Even if it goes well, by the way! »
