McIntosh completes gold medal hat trick in the pool at Paris 2024
She came, she swam, and she’ll be heading home with four individual Olympic medals. The world certainly knows who Canada’s Summer McIntosh is now.
Gold in the 400m individual medley. Gold in the 200m butterfly. Silver in the 400m freestyle. And a now a gold in the 200m IM, which she won on Saturday night at Paris 2024.
READ: McIntosh wins fourth medal, taking gold in 200 IM
“It’s pretty surreal,” said McIntosh. “I’m just so proud of myself and how I’ve been able to recover and manage events.
“The reason I’m able to do this is just because of all the hard work and dedication I’ve given to this moment, along with all my family and my teammates, and my coaches have also worked so hard for me to be here today.”
The 17-year-old made more history on Saturday, becoming the first Canadian athlete to win three gold medals in one Olympic Games. She also matches Penny Oleksiak for the most medals won by a Canadian athlete at one summer Games. It wasn’t that long ago that McIntosh was watching Oleksiak introduce herself to the world at Rio 2016.
“Ever since Rio, Canadian swimming kind of was flipped on its head and we’ve continued to carry the momentum since then. I mean, in 2016, I was watching on my TV, Penny and Kylie [Masse] and everyone back then, winning medals and still winning medals now, so it’s pretty surreal to be able to swim alongside them.”
READ: Swimming in her mother’s main event, McIntosh makes more history at Paris 2024
Speaking after Saturday’s race, McIntosh indicated that she may not be done in the pool just yet, perhaps joining the women’s 4x100m medley relay team in Sunday’s final. It’s after that race that McIntosh will allow herself to celebrate and reflect on what she’s accomplished – and what a list of accomplishments it is.
McIntosh began the Games by winning silver in the 400m freestyle on Day 1 in Paris. She edged American Katie Ledecky for silver in that race and the only swimmer faster than her was Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, the world record holder in the event. McIntosh was expected to medal in the event and, in doing so, likely took some pressure off herself heading into the heart of the swimming schedule.
In the 400m IM, she dominated, easily capturing her first Olympic gold medal. With a time of 4:27.71, she finished 5.69 seconds faster than the runner-up, Katie Grimes of the United States. McIntosh calls the race her favourite event – and it’s easy to see why.
READ: Under pressure and expectation, McIntosh delivers gold for Team Canada
Then on Thursday, McIntosh won her second gold medal of the Games, becoming the first Canadian to ever capture a medal in the women’s 200m butterfly – the same event her mother competed in at Los Angeles 1984. Not only did she win, but she did so in an Olympic record time of 2:03.03.
Saturday’s final proved to be one of McIntosh’s closest in Paris. She led after 100m but Americans Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh charged in the breaststroke portion. McIntosh sat in second at the 150m mark and had some ground to make up in the final 50m of freestyle. The Canadian made the comeback look easy, passing the Americans and finishing in an Olympic record time of 2:06.56.
Douglass won the silver while Walsh, who finished third, was disqualified for an illegal move at the first turn.
McIntosh knew going in that the Americans would be a tough challenge. Walsh had the best time in the semifinals followed by McIntosh and Douglass. Australia’s Kaylee McKeown slid into third.
“I knew it was going to be a close race, but overall, I mean, I’m happy with the result,” said McIntosh.
McIntosh was expected to win medals for Canada in Paris. That pressure isn’t easy for any athlete, let alone a 17-year-old competing in just her second Olympic Games (and first with spectators in the arena). McIntosh certainly delivered.