SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which record will be the most difficult for Leon Marchand to take down as he descends on short course meter racing this fall:
Question: Which SCM world record will be the hardest for Leon Marchand to take down?
After ravaging the record books in short course yards, and cracking Michael Phelps' longstanding world record in the 400 IM in long course meters, Leon Marchand is ready to see what he can do in short course meters.
In SCY, Marchand is the fastest swimmer of all-time in the 500 free, 200 breast, 200 IM and 400 IM, and in long course, along with his world record in the 400 IM, he ranks #2 all-time in the 200 breast, 200 fly and 200 IM after his unbelievable performance at the Paris Olympics this past summer.
Earlier this month we learned that Marchand was planning on competing at the three stops of the World Cup circuit this fall before taking on the Short Course World Championships for the first time in his career in December.
Although Marchand took an extended break from training after the Olympics, roughly six weeks, there's hardly any debate that he'll have a good chance at taking down multiple world records come December.
He's been so dominant in SCY and LCM, it didn't make sense to ask SwimSwam readers if he would take down a record in SCM. Instead, we asked which of the records in his four primary events will be the most difficult for him to crack.
The record that has been lowered most recently, the 200 fly, came out on top with 55.7% of the votes. That's Tomoru Honda's mark of 1:46.85, set in 2022, which is the fastest swim in history by well over a second.
The #2 swim ever is the 1:48.24 established by Daiya Seto in 2018, so Honda's performance is truly an outlier. We also haven't seen Marchand tackle the 200 fly in short course yards like we have in the IMs and 200 breast, given it wasn't a part of his NCAA Championship program, so it's no surprise that the 200 fly received the highest number of votes by a wide margin.
SwimSwam contributor Dominique Hérailh did an in-depth breakdown of converting Marchand's performances at the Paris Olympics to short course meters, and the 200 fly proved to be the only one that didn't look like a slam-dunk for him to break.
Earning the second-most votes in the poll was the 200 IM, which is Ryan Lochte's mark of 1:49.63 set back in 2012. No one else in history has been under 1:50, though in 2022, Matt Sates (1:50.15) and Shaine Casas (1:50.37) were sub-1:50.5, so Lochte's time is far from unreachable.
In Paris, Marchand was six one-hundredths shy of breaking Lochte's long course world record of 1:54.00 from 2011.
Readers clearly think the 200 breast and 400 IM records are the most likely to fall. In the 200 breast, Kirill Prigoda owns the all-time mark at 2:00.16 -- could Marchand be the first swimmer under 2:00?
In the 400 IM, Seto has dominated in short course meters, winning six straight SC world titles dating back to 2012. Marchand will have the chance to not only end Seto's streak, but also his world record, which stands at 3:54.81 set in 2019.
Seto owns six of the seven fastest swims in history, having been 3:56.43 or quicker six times. Lochte is the only other swimmer listed in the top-seven performances, having been 3:55.50 en route to winning the last world title not claimed by Seto in 2010.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: If you had to bet on one, which male swimmer are you picking to win both backstrokes at NCAAs in 2025: