Marchand and McIntosh named World Aquatics' Male and Female Athletes of the Year

Xinhua News Agency, Budapest, December 15 (Reporters Liu Yang, Chen Hao) — At the closing ceremony of the World Aquatics Championships in short-course swimming held in Budapest on December 15, World Aquatics announced that Paris Olympic champion Marchand and McIntosh were named the 2024 Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively.

22-year-old French swimming star Marchand dominated the Paris Olympics, claiming 4 golds and 1 bronze medal while breaking Olympic records in four events: the men’s 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, and 200m breaststroke. Following the Games, he went on to sweep a total of 9 golds and 1 silver across three short-course World Cup stops in Shanghai, Incheon, and Singapore.

At the Paris Olympics, Canada’s "prodigy," McIntosh—then just under 18 years old—claimed 3 golds and 1 silver, shattering the Olympic record in the women’s 200m individual medley and the world junior record in the 200m butterfly. Meanwhile, at the recently concluded Short Course World Championships, she secured 3 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze, breaking the short-course world record three times in the process.

China's "Flying Fish," Pan Zhanle, has been shortlisted as a candidate for the Male Athlete of the Year. This year, he broke the men’s 100m freestyle world record twice, claimed 2 gold and 1 silver medal at the Paris Olympics, and secured 4 gold medals at the Doha World Championships.

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Marchand and McIntosh named World Aquatics' Male and Female Athletes of the Year

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