Paris Olympics: Summer McIntosh Inspired Canada in Dominant, ‘Surreal’ Performance

Summer McIntosh -- Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Paris Olympics: Summer McIntosh Inspired Canada in Dominant, ‘Surreal’ Performance

Three years earlier, Summer McIntosh had become one of the youngest Olympic swimming finalists in modern memory. In Tokyo, McIntosh was just 14, but she nearly pulled off a medal, swimming in third place behind an epic Ariarne Titmus–Katie Ledecky duel until she faded in the final 100 meters. If McIntosh could continue her rapid ascendence, perhaps she would be in the mix with the veteran stars by the time the Paris Games came around. The potential for McIntosh to become the best freestyler in the world was obvious.

This year, McIntosh won her first Olympic medal in the 400 free, securing silver behind Titmus and ahead of Ledecky. But her freestyle efforts would only be the beginning; in the months after Tokyo, McIntosh began showing her talents across different strokes, particularly butterfly and individual medley. In Paris, she showcased the full array of her talents, becoming the only female swimmer to win three individual gold medals and one of just two swimmers, along with Leon Marchand, to win four individual medals.

The first of those gold medals came in the 400 IM, a race where McIntosh had already won two world titles and twice lowered the world record, swimming a whopping two seconds faster than any other woman in history and almost four seconds ahead of any other swimmer aside from Katinka Hosszu. She came to Paris owning a lifetime best a full seven seconds clear of anyone else in the field, with her world record standing at 4:24.38.

Summer McIntosh (center) with Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant after winning medals in the 400 IM — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

The longer medley is McIntosh’s favorite event, and that’s fitting, given the physical advantages that make her the best in the world: a combination of speed and endurance, near-perfect technique and three elite strokes, with only her breaststroke in any way lacking. And even without challenging her world record, McIntosh still beat the heat by 5.69 seconds, the largest margin of victory in the event in 40 years.

Next up on McIntosh’s schedule was the 200 fly, the event in which her mother, the former Jill Horstead, represented Canada at the 1984 Olympics and won a medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Pan Pacific Championships. This time, McIntosh had a pair of legitimate challengers, first with defending champion Zhang Yufei taking the race out hard and then with unyielding American Regan Smith, who swam her best time in the Olympic final. Smith clocked 2:03.84 that evening, but McIntosh was even better, managing a mark of 2:03.03, the second-fastest time in history behind the 2:01.41 from China’s Liu Zige from the polyurethane-suit era.

The most challenging of her swims was the 200 IM, which included two other swimmers who had already achieved individual gold in Paris (Kaylee McKeown and Kate Douglass) plus a former world champion only in Pairs for the one event (Alex Walsh) In the 400-meter race, McIntosh was far enough ahead of the field to mask her breaststroke weakness, but in the 200 IM against breaststroke-specialist Americans in the shorter distance, not so much. Only in the final 10 meters could McIntosh burst ahead and secure gold.

“It’s pretty surreal,” McIntosh said as she summarized her week. “I’m just so proud of myself how I was able to recover and manage these events because it is a lot. The reason I’m able to do this is because of all the hard work and dedication I’ve given to this moment, along with all my family and my teammates and coaches that have also worked so hard for me to be here today.”

Throughout the week, McIntosh described her reaction to each medal using that same word, surreal, suggesting that she could not believe the result. But none of the results were a surprise, nor should they have been: in addition to her physical attributes, McIntosh has the character and mentality required of a multi-time Olympic champion.

Immense Pressure? No Problem For McIntosh

McIntosh was not perfect in her second Olympic Games. She could not hang with Titmus down the stretch of the 400 free final. McIntosh swam on all three Canadian’s women relays, but her teams ended up fourth in all three events. Most painful was the 400 medley relay at the conclusion of the meet, when McIntosh could not hang with sprint specialists Mollie O’Callaghan and Yang Junxuan down the stretch, falling from second place to outside the medals.

But McIntosh brought her best form every time, even in the races when her American rivals proved stubborn and pushed McIntosh all the way to the end. After winning her first gold, McIntosh revealed why she did not find a scene like an Olympic final all that intimidating.

“I think just because I have been doing this since I was 14,” McIntosh said. “Obviously, the Olympics was very different back in Tokyo three years ago. Every single time I race on the world stage, I learn more about handling it mentally, physically and emotionally and trying not to get too high or too low depending on the race results.”

McIntosh learned perhaps her best lesson one year earlier, when she entered the 400 free World Championships final as the world-record holder, only to struggle throughout and finish off the podium. But even in the aftermath of that disappointment, McIntosh showed her mastery of the moment as she instantly bounced back to win two gold medals and a bronze in that meet. In Paris, she was ready.

Summer McIntosh — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

In the moments before races, most swimmers feel nerves, which can be crippling in big moments; not McIntosh. “I would say instead of nerves, I just get adrenaline and anticipation,” she said. “I really try to feed off the crowd’s energy, try to have fun and enjoy it.”

She raced on eight of nine days of the Olympic swimming schedule, but McIntosh had the physical recovery mastered, too. “It’s a lot more simple than probably people think behind the scenes,” she said. “All I’m doing is eating and sleeping when I’m not swimming. Just keep it simple, try to rest my brain as much as I do my body.”

Surely, there must have been tough moments, perhaps where exhaustion or emotion had gotten the better of McIntosh? Nope. “Today has probably been the hardest because it’s day eight,” McIntosh said after securing 200 IM gold, “but it really comes back to mentally being ready because I know I’m as physically prepared as possible.”

These results have secured McIntosh’s place as the best female swimmer in the world, the first time in her career she has been the undisputed owner of that title. She is also a national hero in her country, having arrived in a period of unprecedented success for her country in global swimming.

Eight years ago, a 9-year-old McIntosh was inspired as she watched Penny Oleksiak and Kylie Masse won individual medals at the Rio Olympics. In Paris, where Masse the first Canadian swimmer to win an individual medal in three consecutive Olympics, she explained McIntosh’s impact on the country in her brief but dominant international career.

“I think she’s an inspiration to everyone, and I know to so many young swimmers in Canada to be able to see her and see her success here on the international stage is knowing for them that they can dream big and continue to do whatever they put their mind to,” Masse said. “She’s already been an inspiration, and I know she’ll continue to be.”

McIntosh now trains in the United States in Sarasota, Fla., but she wears the Maple Leaf proudly. As ‘O Canada’ played over the loudspeaker at La Défense Arena, McIntosh sang the first part of the anthem in English, then a portion in French and finally back to English, just like she learned as a child in school. Moreover, she speaks with maturity and wisdom far beyond her teenage years, fully embracing her role.

“I just hope that anyone watching back home, I try to inspire as many young kids as possible,” McIntosh said. “I hope they know if I can do it, they can do it, too. I was once in their shoes watching the Olympics, and now I’m here, eight years later. I hope to inspire them as much as possible.”

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