Summer McIntosh of Team Canada poses with the national flag of Canada following the medal ceremony after winning gold in the women's 200-metre butterfly final on day six of the Olympic Games at Paris La Defense Arena on Aug. 1, 2024 in Nanterre, France.Clive Rose/Getty Images
Summer McIntosh may be unstoppable.
At least so far, she’s achieved that status at the Olympics.
The 17-year-old from Toronto won another gold medal on Thursday night, setting an Olympic record in the 200-metre butterfly with a time of 2 minutes 3.03 seconds.
American Regan Smith took silver in a time of 2:03.84, while China’s Yufei Zhang claimed bronze in 2:05.09.
That makes three medals in three individual events for McIntosh, an international sensation who is now drawing some of the loudest cheers at Paris La Défense Arena for any swimmer not from France.
“I’m really happy with the time, even though I definitely think I had 2:02 in me,” McIntosh said after the race. “I think my finish was a little bit weird.”
“I can never be upset with that best time, especially by that margin.”
McIntosh kicked off the Olympics on Saturday by winning Canada’s first medal, a silver, in the 400-metre freestyle. She followed that up by winning gold in the 400-metre individual medley on Tuesday.
“Yeah, I mean, overall it’s been a pretty amazing Games for me,” McIntosh said. “But I’m not done yet. And I’ll have lots of time to celebrate with my friends and family after. But right now I’m just keeping it simple.”
After swimming in second place for the first half of the 200-metre butterfly, McIntosh took over on the last half, passing Zhang and holding off Smith for the win.
As she touched the wall her mom, Jill – who swam for Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics –jumped up and down, while her father Greg pumped his fist and her older sister Brooke hugged them.
When McIntosh glanced back at the scoreboard she smiled, then pumped her fist and looked toward her parents in the stands.
Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh celebrates winning gold in the women's 200m butterfly finals during the 2024 Olympic Games on Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France.Siegfried Modola/The Globe and Mail
The butterfly was the same event her mom swam for Canada at the 1984 Olympics where, racing under her maiden name Horstead, she placed ninth.
“Sharing that moment with her was pretty cool. And I know she’s just so proud of me, along with the rest of my family,” McIntosh said. “Just to have them here, I can’t thank them enough for all their support and sacrifices.”
Her coach Brent Arckey said the two had discussed the family history in the race.
“We were actually talking about it,” Arckey said. “Certainly this is a cool thing to talk about at home. Like, how cool is that?”
Arckey said he is impressed by how well McIntosh has handled the pressure in Paris, and the busy racing schedule she is attempting.
“The way she’s managing everything, and I don’t even know if surprise is the right word.” Arckey said. “I always come back to she’s a 17-year-old girl. Managing all this and doing it day after day is not an easy thing.”
McIntosh made history in multiple different ways.
She is the first Canadian woman in any sport to win two individual gold medals at a Summer Olympics.
The two sides of Summer McIntosh, Canada’s gold-medal talent
Myriam Bedard won two gold medals in biathlon at the 1994 Winter Games, while synchronized swimmer Carolyn Waldo won double gold medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics, including one in a duet event.
McIntosh is also the first swimmer from Canada, male or female, to win three individual medals at a single Summer Games.
Penny Oleksiak won four medals in 2016 in Rio, with two coming from the relay events, and three in Tokyo three years ago, which included two in the relays.
McIntosh is the first Canadian woman to win the 200-metre butterfly and, in addition to setting an Olympic record, her time was the second fastest ever recorded in the event, less than a second and a half behind the world record of 2:01.81.
She didn’t know what to make of all the marks she set Thursday.
“It’s pretty surreal. I’m not reflecting on it too much right now,” she said, adding that she has other races to prepare for. “I’m really focused on that now.”
With three medals, including two golds, now in the books, McIntosh will have a chance at another individual podium on Saturday, in the 200-metre individual medley.
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