Léon Marchand has been riding the waves of his Paris Olympics endeavors for quite some time. He didn’t make much of a splash in Tokyo, but this time, he is touted as France’s Golden Boy. This makes it nearly impossible for the 22-year-old to escape the radar like he used to. After walking away with 5 medals and 4 Olympic records in front of a raucous home crowd, it’s no surprise he’s become the one to watch in the swimming community.  

However, this could add a certain disadvantage for the Olympian. While he is still getting used to the public attention, the swimmer found himself caught up in relationship rumors with 2022 2x Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu. In conversation with Purepeople, Marchand was asked if he’s romantically involved with a certain someone. “I’m doing a Computer Science program in the United States, so it’s a lot of homework, it’s still classes every day,” the 22-year-old promptly shut down. 

Léon Marchand reiterated how this leaves no time for anyone else. He continued, “The time I give, I give to my parents, and to my little brother.” No one else gets the limited time he has. It’s not surprising. He balances academics while training and competing whenever he can throughout the year. “I would say that in the last two years, it’s been very complicated. I don’t have time for that. My days are full,” the swimmer added. 

Practice takes up most of his time. “I don’t have time for leisure, I don’t have time for anything, except Sunday. But we swim even on Saturday, we have a 3-hour session, on Saturday afternoon we don’t do anything anymore, we are completely very tired,” the Olympian confessed. The 22-year-old reiterated how they’re not allowed more than 25 hours of training a week in the States. 

However, that wasn’t the only surprising bit for Léon Marchand. The swimmer decided to move from France to train under veteran coach Bob Bowman. Compared to the coaches back home, he stated how American coaches are very committed. “I’ve seen him running around the pool. It’s his whole life. He’s full-on committed to what we’re doing. He doesn’t mess around,” Léon Marchand admitted. But what brought on the relationship rumors? 

Is love in the air for Léon Marchand?

The Summer Games were as thrilling as ever for the swimmer. Breaking records was nothing new for the wunderkind, but doing it across 4 races while clinching a gold was worthy of a celebration. After the games commenced, several Olympians hopped over to the l’Arc club. But with how popular the 22-year-old was, letting his hair down wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be.

In a now viral video, Léon Marchand was spotted getting cozy with Chinese Skier Eileen Gu. The two were seen dancing in close proximity to each other. But this wasn’t what sparked the rumor mills. Shortly after, Gu was spotted holding an Olympic gold medal, and making a kissing gesture. 

The medal could be one of the 4 the swimmer won at the París La Défense Arena. However, many weren’t understandably pleased with their involvement, seeing how the Olympian was spotted being disrespectful to a Chinese coach during the Games. While ducking under a tape barrier on his way to the podium, the 22-year-old walked past Coach Zhu, who reached out to shake his hand. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, the internet wasn’t pleased.

Even though Gu and Léon Marchand hadn’t commented on the situation before this, fans are still heated up about this supposed connection. But seeing how busy the Frenchman is with the ongoing swimming World Cup, it’s clear how he feels about the rumor. What do you think? Is there something more lingering under the surface?