McIntosh golden again on Day 6 of Paris 2024; Masse, Knox, Liendo advance to finals
The summer of Summer continued on Day 6 of Paris 2024.
Summer McIntosh won her second gold medal of the Games on Thursday, winning the women’s 200m butterfly to become the first Canadian to ever capture a medal in the event. Her time of 2:03.03 set an Olympic record.
Much like her gold medal performance in the 400m individual medley, it wasn’t all that close. McIntosh trailed China’s Zhang Yufei in the first 100m but, like she has all Games, made her move in the second half. McIntosh pulled into first during the third lap and never trailed again, beating second-place finisher Regan Smith of the United States by 0.81 seconds.
READ: McIntosh wins third medal of Paris 2024 — gold in women’s 200m butterfly
McIntosh posted the best time in Wednesday’s semifinals to secure a spot in the final. Her time of 2:04.87 was .52 seconds faster than Smith in that heat.
The 17-year-old has dominated the 200m butterfly on the world stage in recent years, winning gold in the event at the 2022 and 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
Along with gold medals in the 200m butterfly and 400m IM in Paris, McIntosh won a silver in the 400m freestyle. She still has the 200m individual medley on her schedule.
McIntosh tried to get a second medal in a matter of hours on Thursday as a member of Canada’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay team, joining Mary-Sophie Harvey, Ella Jansen and Julie Brousseau in the evening final. The Canadians were as far back as eighth at one point but fought their way to a fourth-place finish with a time of 7:46.05.
Canada qualified for the final by placing sixth overall in the morning heats with a time of 7:53.03. Emma O’Croinin took McIntosh’s spot in the prelims.
Two other Canadian women were in action on Thursday with Kylie Masse and Regan Rathwell both swimming in the 200m backstroke. Masse’s time of 2:08.54 was the second fastest in the morning heats and pushed her into the semifinals. Rathwell swam to a time of 2:12.21 and did not advance.
In the evening semifinals, Masse posted a time of 2:07.92, placing her second in her heat and fifth overall, securing a spot in the final.
“I think [it’s about] just trying to enjoy what I do best and that makes it really easy when there’s an atmosphere like this and knowing that there’s so many – you can see so many – Canadian flags just glancing for a second,” Masse told CBC following the race. “It’s really special to know that we have support here. Ultimately, all the training is behind me and I’m just really trying to soak in the whole experience.”
Masse will look to win her first medal in Paris in the women’s 200m backstroke final, which takes place Friday at 2:36 p.m. ET. Masse won silver in the event at Tokyo 2020 and is the Canadian record holder.
On the men’s side, Finlay Knox competed in the 200m individual medley semifinals Thursday evening while Josh Liendo swam in the 50m freestyle semis.
Knox, who is the reigning world champion in the event, was able to grab the eighth and final spot in Friday’s final with a time of 1:57.76. He finished just 0.06 seconds head of American Shaine Casas.
In the morning heats, Knox had a strong butterfly lap to start and sat in second after 150m. He finished third in his heat with a time of 1:58.97, placing him 13th overall.
The men’s 200m IM final will take place Friday at 2:43 p.m. ET, a race that will feature French star Leon Marchand.
Liendo, meanwhile, finished ninth in his semifinal heat, just 0.05 seconds out of eighth spot. But he was advanced into the final when Maxime Grousset of France decided to scratch.
Competing in his second Games, the 21-year-old posted a time of 21.92 in the morning heats, placing him 15th and grabbing one of the final semifinal spots.
Liendo will then shift his focus to the men’s 100m butterfly event, which begins Friday morning.
“Obviously I’m a top seed in that and that’s the goal – to hold that position,” Liendo told CBC. “Just refocus and go rip the 100 fly.”
Swimming pool events continue until August 4 (Day 9) at Paris 2024.