Legendary swimming coach Bob Bowman said Sunday that he believes Leon Marchand can handle the pressure at next year’s Paris Olympics after “a very good rehearsal” at the world championships.

French sensation Marchand has been one of the stars of the competition this week in Fukuoka, claiming three gold medals and breaking Michael Phelps’s long-standing 400m individual medley world record.

Bowman mentored Phelps to unprecedented Olympic success and he now coaches Marchand at Arizona State in the US.

Marchand will face huge expectations at the Paris Games but Bowman said the 21-year-old “got better when the pressure was highest” this week in Japan.

“That’s something Michael always did — that’s what the great ones do,” said Bowman, who is serving as head coach of the US team in Fukuoka.

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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