At Swim Clinic in Japan, Leon Marchand Hails ‘Awesome’ Yumeki Koijma, Tomoyuki Matsushita
Japan’s top medley swimmers are hard at work this week, and Leon Marchand has been paying attention.
The French reigning Olympic double medley champion hailed the “amazing progression” of Yumeki Kojima and Tomoyuki Matsushita as he eyes them as potential rivals at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Marchand this week is back in Japan for a special swim clinic hosted by the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. It’s a chance for him to revisit the site of his Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021, which set the stage for him to win four gold medals three years later in Paris.
The path to repeating that performance will put him in contact with Kojima and Matsushita. Through two days of the Asian Games, Matsushita won gold in the 200 individual medley in 1:55.30, .06 up on Kojima’s world junior record. Kojima improved his WJR in the 400 IM to 4:07.02, setting the Asian Games mark. Matsushita was second in 4:09.64.
Matsushita is just 21. He took silver in the 400 IM at the Paris Olympics and the 2025 World Championships, both to Marchand.
“They are awesome,” Marchand told Olympics.com of Matsushita and Kojima. “First, as humans, because I spoke to them before. They’re really simple people, really nice, and they really enjoy the sport.”
Kojima is already pushing his supremacy at 17 years old. He gives Japan a potent 1-2 punch in two events in which they’ve traditionally excelled.
Matsushita and Marchand are likely to tangle during the short-course season this fall.
“I’m really excited to race him in the next month and in the next couple of years,” Marchand said. “I think he will be one of my main rivals, so I’m really excited for the future, and I wish him the best.”
Marchand also has his eyes on Shin Ohashi, who is the world junior record holder in both breaststroke events. Marchand’s four golds in Paris included the 200 fly and 200 breaststroke. Ohashi, who tied for the gold in the 100 breast at the Asian Games in 58.64, is a rising star in that discipline.
“I still always look at what they do during the season because I need to keep informed of what’s happening in the swimming world,” he said. “They’ve been doing so well in the past few years. So it’s scary, but also exciting for me.”
Read the full interview here.
