Paris Olympics: Canada’s Summer McIntosh Wins women’s 200m butterfly Title

Summer McIntosh has made Canadian Olympic history by winning the gold medal in the women’s 200-metre butterfly at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

At just 17 years old, McIntosh has already achieved a remarkable feat, claiming her second gold medal of the Games.

McIntosh’s victory in the 200m butterfly was particularly poignant, as it mirrors the event her mother, Jill Horstead, competed in at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

McIntosh’s performance added to her impressive haul in Paris, where she has already secured a gold in the 400-metre individual medley and a silver in the 400-metre freestyle.

With this win, McIntosh joins an elite group of Canadian swimmers, including George Hodgson (1912) and Alex Baumann (1984), who have won two gold medals at the same Olympic Games.

She is also the first Canadian woman to achieve double gold in individual events at an Olympic Games and the first Canadian to earn three medals across three individual events.

Her winning time of 2:03.03 not only earned her gold but also set an Olympic record.

Reflecting on the moment, McIntosh said, “It’s pretty cool winning the 200 fly because that, by far, was my mom’s main event. To share that moment with her is pretty cool. I know she is so proud of me along with the rest of my family.”

Regan Smith of the United States secured the silver with a time of 2:03.84, while China’s Zhang Yufei took bronze with a time of 2:05.09.

Despite her extraordinary achievements, McIntosh noted that she feels she could have achieved an even better time, saying, “I’m really happy with the time even though I definitely think I had 2:02 in me. I haven’t been able to watch it yet. I think my finish was a little bit weird, but I can never be upset with that best time, especially by that margin.”