Canada's Summer McIntosh swims to second Olympic gold medal in Paris

PARIS — Summer McIntosh began rewriting Canadian history at the Olympic Games with her second gold medal.

The 17-year-old swimmer from Toronto won women's 200-metre butterfly gold, which was also her mother Jill Horstead's race in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, on Thursday.

McIntosh's second gold was her third medal in Paris after her victory in the 400-metre individual medley and a silver in the 400-metre freestyle.

"It's been a pretty amazing Games for me, but I'm not done yet," the teenager stated.

McIntosh joined George Hodgson in 1912 and Alex Baumann in 1984 among Canadian swimmers who won two gold medals at an Olympic Games.

She's the first Canadian woman to claim double gold in individual events at an Olympic Games.

McIntosh is also the first Canadian to earn three medals in three individual events at a Summer Olympic Games.

Her time of two minutes 3.03 seconds was an Olympic record in an event that resonates with her because it was also her mother's.

“It’s pretty cool tonight winning the 200 fly because that, by far, was her main event," the daughter said. "To share that moment with her is pretty cool. I know she is so proud of me along with the rest of my family."

Regan Smith of the United States took silver in 2:03.84 and China's Zhang Yufei was the bronze medallist in 2:05.09.

"I'm really happy with the time even though I definitely think I had 2:02 in me," McIntosh said. "I haven't been able to watch it yet. I think my finish was a little bit weird, but yeah, I can never be upset with that best time, especially by that margin."

McIntosh missed another podium chance later Thursday evening when she anchored the women's 4x200 freestyle relay to a fourth-place finish alongside Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivieres, Que., Ella Jansen of Burlington, Ont. and Ottawa's Julie Brousseau.

"We're pretty disappointed with that result," McIntosh said. "But I think we're all extremely proud of each other because two of them, that was their first Olympic final and they're just a little bit older than me.

"We're all so young and along with Mary being so experienced, but also still in her early twenties, it was a cool moment to share with all of them."

As she said, McIntosh isn't done chasing more history in Paris. She competes in the 200-metre individual medley preliminary rounds on Friday. The final is Saturday.

McIntosh is also a candidate to race the women's medley relay Sunday.

Zhang was strong off the blocks to take an early lead in the 200 fly, which the Chinese relinquished to McIntosh before the 150-metre mark and began to fade.

"At the 125 (metre) mark, I feel I hadn't started trying in the race yet. I was really controlling it as much as possible," McIntosh said.

Smith tried to close on the final 50, but the Canadian held her ground out front and touched the wall first.

"She's out aggressively but not overly aggressive, great third 50 and probably one of the best turns for her off the last wall and then just doing what she needs to do the last 50," was her coach Brent Arckey's assessment.

Three of McIntosh's teammates qualified for finals via Thursday's semifinals.

Toronto's Josh Liendo and Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., grabbed the eighth and final berths in the men's 50-metre freestyle and 200-metre individual medley respectively.

Before veteran backstroker Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ont., qualified fifth for the 200 metres, she watched her young teammate step to the top of the Olympic podium again.

"I don't know if people recognize the significance of what she's doing and the number of medals she's achieved," Masse said.

"She's such an incredible athlete and one of a kind. I hope people can recognize that and really get behind her and support her in her achievements already."

Canadian Olympic Committee president and former rower Tricia Smith, who was recently re-elected to the International Olympic Committee, presented McIntosh with the gold medal.

"The first night when they actually put the silver on my neck, I was actually in shock at how heavy it was because no other medal has been that heavy before," McIntosh said. "Definitely pretty surreal and I just try to soak up those moments as much as possible."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2024.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press