Welcome to the Paris Olympics’ “Summer of Summer” (McIntosh).
Summer McIntosh’s Olympic Gold Will Surely Be the First of Many
On July 29, 2024, in Nanterre, France, at the Paris La Defense Arena, Summer McIntosh of Canada celebrates winning the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter individual medley final.
Summer McIntosh’s Olympic Gold Will Surely Be the First of Many
In order to go to tomorrow night’s 100-meter breaststroke final, Canadian swimmer Kyle Masse had just finished her semifinal heat on Monday when a reporter questioned her about another competitor: Summer McIntosh, a 17-year-old Canadian swimming sensation, earned her maiden Olympic gold medal and her second medal of the Games earlier in the evening in the 400-meter individual medley (IM). When an individual sport competitor is worried about her own performance, she usually doesn’t want to talk about someone else in a different race.
When McIntosh heard all of Masse’s views, he was appreciative. Then Masse left the media fracas to give swimming’s future—and certainly its present—front and center.
The Olympic pool in Nanterre, France, which is west of Paris, saw slower-than-expected times on the third night of competition. Some speculate that this is because the pool is somewhat shallow, which causes choppy conditions and hinders an athlete’s swim. The only person to beat the field was McIntosh, who finished nearly six seconds ahead of Team USA’s Emma Weyant, who took home the bronze, and Katie Grimes, who took home the silver. No race was decided by more than.54 seconds on Monday, despite the shorter lengths of the other four finals. In a particularly close finish, Romanian David Popovici defeated Great Britain’s Matthew Richards by 0.02 seconds in the men’s 200-meter freestyle final. Luke Hobson of the United States took up the bronze, coming in 0.07 seconds behind Popovic.
Slow racing is not the same as boring racing.
Four medals were won by Team USA in the end. In addition to Grimes, Weyant, and Hobson, Ryan Murphy placed third in the 100-meter backstroke, trailing only Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, who won in 52.00 seconds, and silver medallist Jiayu Xu, who finished in 52.32 seconds. It took Murphy 52.39 seconds. He took home the gold in Rio in 2016 and added another bronze in Tokyo.
Murphy later learned the gender of his unborn child when his pregnant wife Bridget held up a sign at La Defense Area reading “It’s A Girl.”
In the 100-meter breaststroke, which she won at the Rio Olympics and holds the world record for, American Lilly King placed fourth. Though she almost missed a medal in Tokyo, she was upbeat in Paris despite her bronze result. She was exhausted in the last stages before Tokyo. She remarked, “I know this race happened three years ago, but it broke me completely.” “This evening, I don’t feel broken.” On Wednesday, the 200-meter breaststroke heats will begin.
McIntosh, the 400-IM world record holder who now adds an Olympic gold medal to her resume, had the night of her life. At every turn, McIntosh, who made her Olympic debut in Tokyo at the age of 14, maintained her advantage over Grimes. By the breaststroke part, which lasted from 200 to 300 meters, the race was essentially between the two of them. By the time the last leg of the freestyle began, McIntosh was positive she had won. “I kind of checked to make sure I was in a lead that felt comfortable,” she remarked.
McIntosh was raised in a sporty household: Her older sister Brooke is an elite pairs figure skater who skated in the 2020 Youth Olympics in Lausanne, and her mother Jill (née Horstead) was a swimmer for Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She attempted gymnastics, figure skating, horseback riding, and even artistic swimming in addition to playing soccer as a child. After Michael Phelps, her family gave their cat, Mikey, that name. McIntosh relocated from Toronto to Sarasota, Florida two years ago in order to train with the prestigious Sarasota Sharks. In February, McIntosh defeated Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle, causing Ledecky to suffer her first defeat in that competition in 13 years. She defeated Ledecky in the 400-meter freestyle on Saturday, but she had to leave the gold ceremony early because she had to compete in the 4 X 100-meter freestyle relay final that evening, when Canada placed fourth.
She is clearly Ledecky’s successor as the best swimmer in the world of women’s swimming. Not only that, but she still has the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley to complete in Paris. “Every time I get to compete on a global scale, I gain more and more knowledge on how to manage it emotionally, physically, and psychologically. And make an effort not to let my race results drive you too high or too low. Needless to say, I’m rather pleased with the outcome. I’m all into the 200 fly now, though.
That is this Wednesday evening. Take advantage of this summertime.
