Léon Marchand is carrying on a long tradition of athletes from host nations becoming Olympic greats

Published August 3, 2024 3:30 AM

By George Ramsay, CNN

Paris (CNN) — In Léon Marchand, France has found one of hopefully many homegrown heroes at these Olympics.

The 22-year-old has been a sensation in the pool, becoming the first athlete in decades to win two individual swimming gold medals on the same night on Wednesday, both in Olympic-record times. He’s won four overall in these Games after Friday’s night victory the in the 200-meter individual medley.

The thunderous chanting of Marchand’s name has become the soundtrack of La Défense Arena – the site of his victories in the men’s 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter breaststroke.

“The crowd was on fire,” the Arizona State University star said after the breaststroke final. “It was insane to live this as a French person. I am so happy.”

But Marchand is not the only French athlete to thrive at these Games. Consider also Antoine Dupont, the rugby star who has made the rare switch from the 15 to the seven-a-side format of the game, thereafter leading his country to gold.

France had little pedigree in sevens rugby prior to Dupont’s arrival, but the scrum-half completely overhauled his team’s fortunes in the sport with a 28-7 victory against two-time champion Fiji in the Olympic final.

Here are some of the other athletes to thrive at recent Olympics on home soil.

Tokyo Olympics – skateboarders shine

Japanese athletes claimed 27 gold medals in Tokyo three years ago, the third-most of any nation behind the USA and China.

Skateboarding in particular, a new addition to the Olympic program at the Games, was a huge source of success for Japan, which won three of the four gold medals on offer.

At age 13, Momiji Nishiya became one of the youngest ever Olympic champions as she won the women’s street event, before Yuto Horigome, who defended his title in Paris earlier this week, added another gold in the men’s event the next day. Another skateboarding victory then followed for Sakura Yosozumi in the women’s park event.

Elsewhere, Yui Ohashi emerged as a star of the pool in Tokyo, winning gold medals in the women’s 200 and 400-meter individual medleys.

Rio Olympics – Neymar’s moment in the sun

Neymar entered the 2016 Rio Olympics with the expectation of a nation on his shoulders, tasked with guiding soccer-mad Brazil to a first Olympic gold medal in the sport just two years after huge disappointment in the 2014 World Cup held on home soil.

At the Maracana Stadium, Neymar delivered, scoring the crucial penalty in the final against Germany with the match ending 1-1 after extra-time.

In track and field, Thiago Braz became only the sixth Brazilian to win an athletics gold medal at the Olympics when he triumphed over France’s Renaud Lavillenie in the pole vault.

Still the Olympic record holder following his gold medal in Rio, Braz went on to win bronze at the Tokyo Games. He is not competing in Paris having received a 16-month doping suspension earlier this year.

London Olympics – Heroes crowned on ‘Super Saturday’

The 2012 London Olympics is best remembered by the British public for “Super Saturday,” when heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, long jumper Greg Rutherford, and distance runner Mo Farah all won golds in the space of an hour.

Farah won golds in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters during the Games, titles he defended in Rio four years later, while tennis star Andy Murray also enjoyed an incredible summer, winning Olympic gold several weeks after his first Wimbledon title.

British athletes also dominated in the velodrome – Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny, and Laura Kenny (then Trott) all won multiple gold medals – and it was at these Games that heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua announced himself as a future star of the sport, defeating Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle in the gold medal bout.

Beijing Olympics – China’s bumper medal haul

Liu Xiang, the defending 110-meter hurdles champion, entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the poster boy of the Games, but he withdrew from the competition late on due to injury.

That didn’t stop China from winning 48 gold medals across the Games – more than any other nation – dominating across badminton, diving, table tennis, weightlifting, gymnastics, and shooting.

Gymnast Yang Wei won gold in the all-around and team events as China almost completed a clean sweep in the men’s events.

In the shooting, Du Li was unable to defend her title in the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition, tearfully finishing out of the medal positions in fifth. However, she bounced back by winning gold in the 50-meter rifle three positions.

Athens Olympics – 17-year-old Ilias Iliadis shines

Greece won six gold medals when Athens hosted the Olympics in 2004, a modest total compared to other host nations but the country’s highest tally in more than 100 years.

Among the medal winners was 17-year-old judoka Ilias Iliadis, who grew up in Georgia but later found a home in Greece, even going on to carry the blue-and-white-striped flag at the opening ceremony in Beijing.

With his victory in the half middleweight category, Iliadis became Greece’s first ever Olympic champion in judo and gained almost instant stardom.

Sydney Olympics – ‘Thorpedo’ wins triple gold

Ian Thorpe was establishing himself as one of the best swimmers of his generation at the start of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, though this was his first time competing at the Games.

The man nicknamed “Thorpedo” went on to become the most decorated athlete in Sydney, with golds in the 400-meter freestyle, 4×100-meter freestyle, and 4×200-meter freestyle, plus two silvers.

On the track, Cathy Freeman was the star of the show. Having lit the Olympic cauldron at the start of the Games, she went on to win gold in the 400 meters as one of only a few Indigenous Australians to have found sporting success.

During her lap of honor, Freeman proudly displayed both the Australian and the aboriginal flags, and her 400m victory was described as “one of the great sporting events of our generation” by the country’s then-Prime Minister John Howard.

Atlanta Olympics – Michael Johnson dominates

The USA won 44 gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Many of those winners have gone on to become sporting icons, perhaps none more so than Michael Johnson, who achieved a rare double in the 200 and 400 meters.

There was also the “Magnificent Seven,” the women’s all-around gymnastics team featuring Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow, Amanda Borden, and Jaycie Phelps.

Memorably, Strug continued to compete in the team final after picking up an ankle injury, battling through obvious pain to complete her second vault. She landed with obvious discomfort but nevertheless help the US to take a first title in the event ahead of Russia and Romania.

The gymnasts weren’t the only team to thrive at the Atlanta Olympics. The women’s soccer competition was staged for the first time, and, watched on by more than 76,000 fans, the US defeated China 2-1 in the gold medal match thanks to goals from Shannon MacMillan and Tiffeny Milbrett.

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