Who Is French Swimmer Leon Marchand Dating? What We Know About the Shy Swimmer's Personal Life
“We are trying to protect him from everything. We want him to focus on what he has to do," Leon's coach said.
Published Aug. 1 2024, 10:25 a.m. ET
French athlete and newly minted international superstar Leon Marchand, who has been compared to legend Michael Phelps, made history when he became the first swimmer ever in his nation to win more than one individual gold medal at a single Olympic Games.
Even more impressive? He took home gold in both butterfly and breaststroke — in one night.
Fans naturally want to know more about Leon's personal life, including who his parents are (they are both former Olympic swimmers!) and who he is dating. Read on to find out what we know.
So, who is Leon Marchand dating — if anyone?
According to ESPN, Leon is very shy, despite the massive amount of media attention on him.
Given his preference to keep a low profile, even on the medal stand, it won't surprise many that his love life is not in the public eye.
According to the Gazette Direct, there are no articles written about who Leon is dating — if he is even dating anyone at all. The gold medalist may be single. It's really anyone's guess because he is not saying.
Even a scroll through the athlete's Instagram reveals little about his personal life. His photos revolve around his sport, many accomplishments, and rigorous training in and out of the pool.
One post from 2019 features Leon with his younger brother while on vacation, and in fact, it seems the Olympian's sibling is one person whom Leon is comfortable sharing some details about with fans — if you count photos as details.
Perhaps coach Nicolas Castel's insight can explain why the Frenchmen is so secretive about his personal life: “We are trying to protect him from everything. We want him to focus on what he has to do.”
Leon echoed that sentiment at a press conference before the Olympics when he said about his preparation, “I was in my family cocoon. I’m still trying to take it step by step. It’s true that since returning to France, I’ve thought more and more about Paris with the media, with the pressure, with the people who talk to me about it.”
Leon Marchand's parents were Olympic swimmers, too.
Along with his little brother, Leon was raised by Xavier Marchand and Celine Bonnet.
Per The U.S. Sun, the 2024 Olympic champion's dad is a world silver medallist and former Olympian himself. Meanwhile, Celine competed in 1992 in the Summer Games in Barcelona.
Leon's uncle Christophe Marchand also competed at those games.
Since Celine knows how hard it is to compete in the sport, she actually discouraged her son from pursuing swimming initially. “We told him, no, don’t do swimming, it’s too hard. No holidays, every day. But he wants to do it," she told Swimming World.
Meanwhile, Xavier is plenty proud of his son's accomplishments, but the most valued thing for him and his wife is that Leon enjoys swimming. “We want him only to swim with pleasure, with a smile. It’s more important for us," he told the outlet.
