Leon Marchand of France competes in the men's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore,. (AP )

SINGAPORE, July 31, (AP): Léon Marchand of France clinched gold in the 200-meter individual medley at the swimming world championships, headlining a podium that carried a distinct Texas connection.

Marchand, American Shaine Casas (silver), and Hungary’s Hubert Kós (bronze) all train under legendary coach Bob Bowman at the University of Texas in Austin – the same coach who guided Michael Phelps to Olympic greatness.

Just 24 hours after shattering the world record in the semifinals with a time of 1:52.69, Marchand nearly repeated the feat in the final, clocking 1:53.68 — still well under the previous world best of 1:54.00 set by American Ryan Lochte in 2011.

“It was a bit tough today, but it was great,” Marchand said. “I know Shaine always goes out super fast, so I knew I couldn’t be far off. It was a battle to the end, and that was cool for me.”

Marchand, who won four individual Olympic titles in Paris last year, is contesting only two individual events in Singapore. He already holds the 400 IM world record (4:02.50) from the 2023 worlds and hinted at another possible record attempt in that event on Sunday, the final day of competition.

“That’s still a whole new challenge,” Marchand said. “I know I’ve gained a lot of power, but I’m not sure it makes a big difference over the 400. We’ll see.”

Canada’s Summer McIntosh continued her stellar run, winning the women’s 200-meter butterfly in 2:01.99 – the second-fastest time in history. She was on world-record pace through 150 meters, but faded slightly over the final stretch. The current record of 2:01.81 was set by Liu Zige of China in 2009 during the super-suit era.

“My coach and I had one goal – to break the world record,” McIntosh said, visibly disappointed. “That’s what I’ve been training for. I missed it by that little and messed up the last 15 meters. I didn’t reach my goal today.”

Still, it was McIntosh’s third gold of the meet. American Regan Smith earned silver (2:04.99), followed by Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers (2:06.12). China’s 12-year-old sensation Yu Zidi finished fourth (2:06.43) – her second fourth-place finish of the championships. McIntosh is set to begin training with Bowman in Texas this fall.