Is record-breaker Leon Marchand better than Michael Phelps?

21-year-old swimming sensation Leon Marchand will forever be remembered for his greatness at the World Aquatics Championships last week.

Although swimming GOAT Michael Phelps retired seven years ago, his leverage and records over the sport still have prominence to this day.

However, on Saturday, the American's final record was broken, with Leon Marchand having the honor of taking Phelps' hold off the sport of swimming.

The Frenchman completed the 400m individual medley in 4:02.50, shaving 1.34 seconds off Phelps' original world record.

Michael Phelps held the record in the race for 21 years, setting increasingly faster times as he became the most dominant swimmer ever.

According to cnn.com, Marchand said: "That was insane, one of the most painful things I've done. It was amazing to do it here, and the time is crazy."

"I'm two seconds faster than my previous record, I beat the world record, it's amazing... I don't know what to say, I'm so happy."

Marchand was under Phelps' record for the whole swim, beating USA's Carson Foster by four seconds and Japan's Seto Daiya by seven seconds, who finished third.

After his impressive swim beating Michael Phelps' last remaining world record, let's look at who Leon Marchand is and where he has come from.

Leon Marchand is a French swimmer and member of the Arizona State Sun Devils swim team and holds records in the 400m and 200m individual medley.

The Frenchman competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, finishing sixth in the 400m individual medley, his best finish at the games.

At the 2022 NCAA Championships, Marchand set a new NCAA, NCAA Championship, and US Open record in the 200-yard individual medley, winning gold. He also won the 200-yard breath stoke.

At the 2023 NCAA Championships, Marchand held his titles in the two previous events he had won the year before and added the 400-yard individual medley gold medal.

The World Aquatics Championships are where Leon Marchand has grown international headlines, starting last year after winning gold in the 200 and 400m medley in Budapest.

He has since won the 400m medley again, smashing Michael Phelps's record last week in Fukuoka, Japan, putting the swimming world on notice.

With the records he has achieved at the college level and international level, it's hard not to think Leon Marchand will go on to become of the greatest swimmers of his generation.