Paris Olympics, Day 5 Semifinals: Summer McIntosh, Regan Smith Headline Field into Final of 200 Butterfly

Paris Olympics, Day 5 Semifinals: Summer McIntosh, Regan Smith Headline Field into Final of 200 Butterfly

Is another Olympic gold medal about to be draped around the neck of Summer McIntosh?

The Canadian teenager, already the champion in the 400-meter individual medley earlier this week, grabbed the top seed for the final of the 200 butterfly at La Defense Arena in Paris on Wednesday night. Dueling with the United States’ Regan Smith, McIntosh won her semifinal in 2:04.87, a half-second clear of the 2:05.39 of Smith.

McIntosh arrived in Paris prepared to contest a four-event program and opened her meet with a silver medal in the 400 freestyle. That effort was followed by gold in the 400 IM and now the 17-year-old is on the cusp of adding another podium finish, with the 200 individual medley still to come. McIntosh was the world champion in the 200 fly in 2022 and 2023.

After a busy start, McIntosh used Tuesday to reset and prepare for the remaining grind of the nine-day meet.

“I just rested and recovered,” she said. I caught up with friends and family, but tried to stay in the zone. It’s all about outside the pool right now. I’m trying to sleep as much as possible, although it’s hard with the adrenaline. I’m letting my mind rest to get to day nine as fresh as possible.”

Out in 27.68, McIntosh established an early advantage and led wire to wire to nail down Lane Four for the final. But the whole way, she had company in Smith, who is the American-record holder in the event. Like McIntosh, Smith has already medaled at the Paris Games, thanks to a silver medal in the 100 backstroke on Tuesday night. She also has the 200 backstroke to come.

China’s Zhang Yufei, the reigning Olympic champion, moved on as the third seed behind a mark of 2:06.09, which was just ahead of the 2:06.17 of Australian Elizabeth Dekkers. Zhang is one of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the banned substance Trimetazidine (TMZ) ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, but was exonerated of wrongdoing when doping officials accepted the argument that the positive tests were linked to a contaminated kitchen.

American 17-year-old Alex Shackell qualified fifth in 2:06.46.

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