Léon Chevalier: Background, career highlights, quotes

Now that his studies are over, France’s Léon Chevalier has the time – and possibly the talent – to become his country’s next long-distance world champion.

Who is Léon Chevalier?

Léon Chevalier has, over the past couple of years, not only made a real initial impact on long-distance racing, but he’s followed that up by establishing himself as one of the most consistent performers on the scene.

His rise is all the more astonishing, bearing in mind he started out competing in sprint triathlons before electing to ignore the crowded field of Olympic-distance racing and head straight to the long stuff.

Born in Paris, Léon spent his early years in New York City before his parents moved the family back to France. For the last five years, he’s called Bath home, from where he’s spent much of the time earning a Masters in chemical engineering.

That he was balancing high-level studies with his burgeoning elite triathlon career makes his story all the more irresistible.

As an age-group European duathlon champion in 2017, Léon had showed he was in possession of a winning mentality before he moved through triathlon’s long-distance ranks. His first Ironman podium came at Ironman UK in July 2021, since when he’s been no stranger to medal ceremonies.

Léon’s first Ironman victory came in Mallorca that same year, a triumph marked by his breaking of the course record. A three-time top-10 finisher at the Ironman worlds, he’s also posted wins at Ironman South Africa and Ironman 70.3 Les Sables D’Olonne.

While many of his compatriots will have their eye on next year’s Olympics in Paris, Léon appears to have no qualms about taking an unorthodox route into long-distance racing, one that eschewed a tilt at Olympic competition, let alone glory.

And now that his studies are over, what price this modest Frenchman tasting Ironman world glory in the next few years?

How old is Léon Chevalier?

Léon Chevalier was born on 6 October 1996, making him 26 years of age.

Léon Chevalier’s career highlights

June 2018: Top five in north Africa

Coming fourth at the ATU African Cup sprint triathlon in the Moroccan coastal city of Larache marks Léon’s best-placed finish over the short distance before he leapfrogs Olympic-distance racing to go long.

October 2019: Top 10 in maiden long-distance event

In his first appearance in long-distance racing, Léon finishes seventh at Challenge Pequera Mallorca, suggesting his giant leap from sprint events could bear rich fruit. The Balearic island will be a happy hunting-ground for the Frenchman over the next few seasons.

June 2021: Silver in Berkshire

After his studies and the pandemic have restricted Léon’s progress, a rare foray into Olympic-distance racing seems him climb the podium at Eton Dorney in an otherwise exclusively British field.

July 2021: Bronze on Ironman debut

In his first full Ironman (having ignored the traditional stepping-stone of Ironman 70.3 racing), Léon comes home third at Ironman UK in Bolton, narrowly missing out on silver to compatriot Sam Laidlow, just seven seconds away.

July 2021: Silver lining in the Alps

Léon takes his fine form back to France where he posts the fastest run of the day at the Alpe D’Huez L triathlon to take silver behind fellow countryman Clement Mignon.

August 2021: Peak performance

By now no stranger to race podiums, Léon returns to the Alps to secure top spot for the first time in his career in Embrun. His victory is a commanding one, breaking the tape nearly 1o minutes ahead of the nearest competitor.

September 2021: The medal haul continues

Spending the summer back in France away from his studies in the UK continues to be a productive period in Léon’s triathlon career, as he takes silver at Triathlon Royan on the Atlantic coast.

October 2021: Grabbing some Spanish gold

Léon’s tremendous summer signs off in magnificent fashion in Mallorca with his first Ironman win, a record-time victory set up by the speediest of bike legs. If they weren’t already paying attention, the rest of the Ironman community now has the dangerous Frenchman on their radar.

March 2022: Top-five finish on Ironman 70.3 debut

As a warm-up to the rescheduled Ironman world champs in two months’ time, Léon makes his maiden appearance in an Ironman 70.3 race, dipping under the four-hour mark in Lanzarote to finish fifth.

May 2022: Mixing it with the legends

In St George in Utah, at the Ironman World Champs rescheduled from the previous year because of the pandemic, Léon scores a highly impressive sixth place, a result made all the more notable by the fact that he’s still a full-time student at this time and thus unable to be a full-time pro triathlete. With this performance, he has reserved himself a place at the top table of triathlon.

July 2022: Victory in the Alps

On his return to Alpe D’Huez, Léon goes one better than the previous year, taking gold by 18 minutes, a measure of his utter dominance of the race.

August 2022: Léon makes his Hawaii bow

In the second Ironman world champs of the calendar year, Léon notches up another top-10 finish on his Kona debut when he comes seventh in Hawaii. His bike split was quicker than the existing Kona record, but he’s not the new holder of it. Again it’s compatriot Sam Laidlow, who finishes seconds overall and snips nearly five minutes off the previous best.

March 2023: Top of the tree at Ironman South Africa

Now without his chemical engineering studies to balance against his race preparation, Léon makes the perfect start to the new season in Port Elizabeth, winning comfortably in one of the most high-profile triumphs of his career to date.

July 2023: Victory in the Vendée

Léon’s winning ways continue when he takes gold at Ironman 70.3 Les Sables D’Olonne, having posted the fastest splits on both the bike and the run. It’s only his second race at the distance. In third o

September 2023: His best world champs finish yet

At his third Ironman world champs, Léon is unable to capitalise on the events being relocated to his home turf. Still, his fifth place in Nice edges him closer to the podium. Ahead of him, though, Sam Laidlow becomes the first French Ironman world champ.

Léon Chevalier in quotes

On coming sixth in St George in 2022 at his first-ever Ironman world champs: “I finished 12 minutes behind [winner] Kristian Blummenfelt, but he’s been totally committed to triathlon for 12 years. I was handing in a dissertation the day before!”

On choosing to be based in the UK: “I wanted a fresh start and, if I also wanted to give triathlon a proper chance, I needed to put myself in an environment that would help me perform. Bath looked like it would give me that.”

On keeping a modest profile as a racer: “I don’t trash-talk people. I’ll let the result do the talking. I’d rather be known for being nice than for being a d*******.”

What’s next for Léon Chevalier?

Although it marked his best-ever finish at an Ironman world champs, there would have been an element of disappointment for Léon that he didn’t make the podium on the event’s relocation to France this autumn.

But, with his studies now in the rear-view mirror, being able to concentrate solely on triathlon will surely reap the Frenchman great rewards in the years to come.

Top image credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images for Ironman