PARIS — France's Leon Marchand won his fourth gold medal of the Paris Olympics with an emphatic victory in the 200-meter (m) individual medley on Friday in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

Marchand won in one minute and 54.06 seconds, the second-fastest time in history and an Olympic record, with Britain's Duncan Scott taking silver and China's Wang Shun third.

It was another memorable night for the host nation at La Defense Arena with French President Emmanuel Macron among those in the crowd celebrating the latest night of glory for the 22-year-old poster boy.

Marchand had already pocketed golds in the 200-m butterfly and 200-m breaststroke, along with the 400-m individual medley, making him the clear favorite in Friday's race.

China's Wang, the defending champion, led after the opening butterfly leg but Marchand got himself in front during the backstroke.

He extended his lead with a strong breaststroke 50 before holding on to his advantage in the final, freestyle, leg as the crowd roared him toward the wall.

For Britain's Scott it was another silver to add to his collection — he finished second to Wang in Tokyo and now has eight Olympic medals.