PARIS >> World record holder Leon Marchand sent home fans into a frenzy as he topped qualifying for the Olympic 400-meter individual medley (IM) final in the morning heats on Sunday.

Chants of “Leon! Leon!” rang out from the terraces at a heaving La Defense Arena as the pin-up boy of French swimming walked to the starting blocks.

Although it was only a heat, his swim nearly lifted the roof of the converted rugby stadium and if Marchand wins gold in the evening session on Sunday the volume will go up a few more notches.

The crowd sang “Allez, allez!” in unison as Marchand came up for air on every stroke of the breaststroke leg, then roared incessantly to bring him home in the freestyle.

His time of four minutes and 8.30 seconds was nearly six seconds off his world record but more than a second clear of Britain’s second-quickest Max Litchfield.

The crowd support was a “crazy thing”, said 22-year-old Marchand, a major contender for gold in four individual events in Paris.

“It was beyond what I expected,” he said through a translator.

“If I can liberate my body and my spirit for the afternoon, it will be great if I can free myself from the pressure.”

Japanese veteran Daiya Seto, a three-time world champion in the event, qualified third for the 400 IM final.

With Marchand at the vanguard, Europe has become a powerhouse of men’s swimming through the Olympic cycle, churning out exciting, young talent.

Romanian teenager David Popovici is one of the best and may well emerge from a hugely competitive 200 meters freestyle field to top the podium.

The lightning-quick Romanian topped qualifying for the evening’s semi-finals with a time of 1:45.65.

“Just having the crowd here is electrifying, hearing my name and hearing so many Romanians through the noises, it’s beautiful,” said the 19-year-old, the 2022 world champion.

SCOTT ADVANCES

Britain’s most decorated Olympic swimming medallist Duncan Scott, the Tokyo runner-up, safely advanced along with Germany’s Lukas Maertens, who claimed the 400m freestyle gold on Saturday.

Australia’s golden girl Ariarne Titmus returned to the pool for the 200m freestyle heats, the morning after successfully defending her 400 meters freestyle title from the challenges of Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh.

World record holder Titmus qualified third for the semi-finals behind top-ranked teammate Mollie O’Callaghan (1:55.79).

“It’s definitely hard to back up after last night but I think I tried to stay as calm as I could last night and try and forget about what happened,” said Titmus, who snatched O’Callaghan’s world record at Australia’s Olympic trials.

“The 400’s done now … It’s back to business.”

Tatjana Smith, who won 100m breaststroke silver under the surname Schoenmaker in Tokyo, topped qualifying for the semi-finals with a time of 1:05.00, 0.63 seconds quicker than China’s Tang Qianting.

In line to defend her Olympic 200m breaststroke champion, Smith is bidding to become South Africa’s most decorated Olympic swimmer in Paris.

Former champion Ryan Murphy’s bid for another men’s 100m backstroke gold medal is safely on track as he qualified fourth for the semi-finals.

Hungary’s Hubert Kos, the 200m backstroke world champion, was top seed for the semis with a time of 52.78.

Italy’s world record holder Thomas Ceccon advanced as 12th among the 16 qualifiers.

Marchand’s bid for the 400m IM title will kick off the evening session, one of three golds on offer.

Briton Adam Peaty’s quest for a third successive men’s 100m breaststroke gold will highlight the night, following a battle between American world record holder Gretchen Walsh and China’s Zhang Yufei for the women’s 100m butterfly title.