France's face of their Olympics, Leon Marchand, felt like he could walk on water, not swim in it.
Marchand rode waves of French parochialism to capture the first of a potential four gold medals at his home-town Games in Paris.
Perhaps only Australian runner Cathy Freeman can truly relate to Marchand's experience.
Like Freeman and her fabled 400m track triumph on home turf at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Marchand carries a nation on his back when racing.
The 17,000-strong capacity crowd at La Defense Arena delivered a rousing rendition of La Marseillaise some 15 minutes before Marchand even appeared on Sunday night.
When the 22-year-old strode on to pool deck for the 400m individual medley final, the ear-splitting reception shook the foundations of temporary grandstands.
"I don't know how to explain it," Marchand said.
"I had goosebumps before and during the race too.
"That was special and winning today was really amazing for me.
"I was trying to focus on myself but it's really hard when 15,000 people are cheering for me.
"I did well in trying to use this energy to swim as fast as possible."
Marchand's winning margin was a massive 5.67 seconds - a near-eternity in swimming terms.
The French hero is chasing three more gold medals in Paris, with the 200m individual medley, the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke to come.
His prowess at the pool hardly surprises given his pedigree. His mother Celine Bonnet, and father Xavier Marchand, were both Olympic swimmers for France.
But the precocious talent was nearly lost to swimming.
Marchand quit the sport for a couple of years as a child because he was bored: so much faster than his training partners, he tired of spending time waiting at the wall for them to catch up.
