Zac left nothing in the tank as he tried to defend the 200m Breastroke title he won in Tokyo. But the man he had to get past was Leon Marchand, the French superstar who has made Paris La Défense Arena his own this week, and become the face of the Games for the host nation.

Marchand had already won gold in the 200m Butterfly by the time he stepped out for the 200m Breastroke. He exploded to the lead in the first 100m and Zac looked well placed given his signature lightning finish.

But Marchand would simply not relent, despite Zac pushing him all the way. Victory in an Olympic record time of 2:05.85 gave him his third gold medal of the Games so far and he became the first male swimmer in history to win two individual events on the same night.

Zac powered to the wall in 2:06.79 and said he could have done nothing more as he took on Marchand in an arena so loud he could barely comprehend he was at a swimming meet. 

“I’m stoked with that result,” Zac said.

“To be back at 2:06 is awesome and Leon is an ultimate competitor. I left it all out there so I can’t complain. In that last 25, I was definitely searching for it. If there was another 20m I might have had it.

“It didn’t feel like a swim meet, it felt like a rugby game. How awesome is this? I couldn’t hear the block when I was moving it, normally you can hear that and I couldn’t hear anything. You can’t even hear yourself think. It was an awesome atmosphere out there, it’s awesome for the sport.

“It’s his (Marchand) moment. I am absolutely stoked for him to have that moment in front of a home crowd. To see someone achieve that,  I can’t complain about that.”

Kyle’s silver medal puts him in the rarest of company and cements his legacy as Australia’s greatest male freestyle sprinter. 

After winning gold in Rio, then silver in Tokyo, he claimed silver again to become the first man since Alex Popov to medal in three consecutive Games in what is the most-competitive event on the program.

His time of 47.48s was a season best, just ahead of Romanian David Popovici (47.49s), who he held off by just 0.01s. But both were more than a second behind new Olympic champion Pan Zhanle of China, who demolished his own world record to win in an astonishing time of 46.40s.

Kyle was in a reflective mood after the race, saying he was proud of his longevity at the top and to be able to continue to rise to the occasion when the spotlight shone the brightest.

“It was special. I did the very best I possibly could. To be able to deliver in the big moment with the pressure and expectation and crowd going crazy, it’s something I’m so proud of,” Kyle said.

“I’m so proud of myself. It’s been a roller coaster. There are so many challenges every athlete has to go through; injuries, mental health, sickness, family stuff. This year has been very challenging, having to move to the Sunshine Coast and move out of South Australia.

“Look at Rio, I was so young and naive and didn’t know what it meant to be an Olympian and Olympic champion. To do it eight years later, it means so much more to me to be able to stand on the podium and receive a silver medal. 

“You train so much for four years for that 47-second moment in the spotlight. To be recognised for that effort is something I never take for granted. I’m lost for words, really.”

Kyle plans to swim through Los Angeles in 2028 and try to chase new levels of excellence after Pan’s swim redefined the blue-riband 100m sprint.

Phil Lutton