PARIS: French swimmer Leon Marchand said he considered taking time away from the sport after winning four gold medals at the Paris Olympics, but admitted that it didn’t take long for his motivation to return. Marchand, 22, pulled out of the world short-course championships in December, taking a step back to prepare himself for future challenges in the wake of his star turn at his home Olympics last year. Asked if he had contemplated sitting out the 2025 season, Marchand said: “I hesitated about doing it but I soon got the fire back in my belly. I had a little dip in energy and mentally. I didn’t really want to get up in the morning to go to training. I was bit more tired than normal,” he said in an interview with French media including AFP. In order to recover he decided to spend several months in Australia, where he continued to train. “I didn’t really set myself any goals for this year,” added Marchand, who also won a relay bronze at the 2024 Games to go along with his four individual titles. “But after a month and a half in Australia I was really starting to get into training; trying to get back to my level, do times again in heats, put my suit back on, do relays and improve my freestyle. “I went on holiday for a bit, and in the end the passion for swimming returned. I think I took enough time off.” Marchand travelled to Texas last month to continue working with his coach Bob Bowman. He is planning to return to competition at the Pro Swim Series in Florida at the start of May, with an eye on the July 27-Aug 3 world championships in Singapore. “I want to do the world championships in Singapore,” said Marchand. “I’ll see how I feel but I want to swim.” Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2025