Léon Marchand Wins First European Gold in Swimming
Listen to the story
The European Swimming Championships are taking place in Saint-Denis, France. Saturday, August 15 had a full day of races.
One of the main events was the men's 200m butterfly. Butterfly is a swimming style where both arms move together over the water.
French swimmer Léon Marchand won this race. It was his very first European gold medal.
Marchand is already well known around the world. He has won several medals at the Olympics, including gold medals in Paris in 2024.
Until this race, however, he had not won gold at the European level. His win in Saint-Denis changed that.
The championships have a full schedule each day, with many different swimming events and heats. A heat is an early round before the final.
Saturday's programme included several finals, and the events were shown live on television and online.
Marchand's win was one of the highlights of the day for the French team, since he is one of the country's most popular athletes.
The competition continues over the following days, with more finals and medal events planned for the swimmers from across Europe.
Vocabulary10 words
- championships
- a big competition to find the best in a sport
- butterfly
- a swimming style; both arms move together
- gold medal
- a prize for first place in a competition
- Olympics
- a very large international sports event, held every four years
- schedule
- a plan showing when things will happen
- heats
- early rounds of a race before the final
- programme
- a plan or list of events for a day
- highlight
- the best or most exciting part
- athlete
- a person who is very good at sports
- live
- happening now; shown as it happens
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Quiz
Answer key
1. It was his first European gold medal 2. Paris 3. True
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The European Swimming _____ are taking place in Saint-Denis, France.
One of the main events was the men's 200m _____.
French swimmer Léon Marchand won this race. It was his very first European gold _____.
Marchand is already well known around the world. He has won several medals at the _____.
Until this race, however, he had not won gold at the European level. His win in Saint-Denis _____ that.
The championships have a full _____ each day, with many different swimming events and _____.
Saturday's _____ included several finals, and the events were shown live on television.
Marchand's win was one of the _____ of the day for the French team.
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