Summer McIntosh remembers the night before she started turning this summer’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games into Summer’s Games.
“It was me, Taylor (Ruck), Maggie (Mac Neil), Kelsey (Wog) and a few of my other roommates just chilling in our room at the Olympic Village, being like, ‘This is it guys, it all starts tomorrow.’ Some of us were swimming the first day, some of us weren’t, but we were really just taking in that moment. It was kind of a wild moment but it also felt so normal. We were all about to go through the same thing.”
Well, not exactly. No one had quite the same Olympic experience as McIntosh, who at 17 rewrote Canada’s record books with three gold medals and a silver. She was named the country’s co-flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony and gained international fame as one of the biggest names – if not the biggest – in world swimming today. The invitations and recognition have poured in from around the world, with highlights including the TIME100 Next list, which featured a testimonial from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a reception with other phenoms from around the world in New York City.
Adding to the accolades today, she’s being named Swimming Canada’s Female Swimmer of the Year for the third straight year. She’s also the Junior Female Swimmer of the Year for the fourth straight time, in her last year of eligibility.
That first night saw McIntosh open with silver in the 400-metre freestyle, behind only Australian Ariarne Titmus for her first ever Olympic medal. She wouldn’t be beaten again. Her first gold came two days later in the 400-m individual medley. McIntosh finished nearly six seconds ahead of American Katie Grimes, the largest margin of victory in 40 years, leading observers to comment on her smiling during the breaststroke leg. She followed up on Day 6 by winning the 200-m butterfly in 2:03.03, an Olympic, world junior and Canadian record. She calls that medal – in the same event her mother Jill (nee Horstead) swam at the Los Angeles 1984 Games – her favourite.
“Sharing that moment with my family, Team Canada and friends, everyone there cheering me on was an awesome moment. The 200 fly is one of my favourite events if not my favourite event. It was amazing,” McIntosh said.
She wasn’t done yet, though, as two days later she added gold in the 200 IM, again in Olympic, world junior and national record time (2:06.56). That was the medal that most impressed her coach Brent Arckey. McIntosh had not swum the 200 IM much internationally, had already clinched arguably the best ever Olympic performance by a Canadian, and faced a stacked field. Her competitors included Americans Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh, Australian Kaylee McKeown and fellow Canadian Sydney Pickrem. McIntosh out-touched double defending world champion Douglass by 0.36 seconds for gold.
“I felt like it got underappreciated. The women in that heat were pretty phenomenal. There was a lot of talk about the 400 free and all that, but I felt like the 200 IM was one of the better events on the women’s side. I was just so proud of her because there was not an option to lose that in her mind,” Arckey said.
“I have a presentation I’ve given on the last 15 metres of that race, and for me that sums it all up. She’s at the end of the swim meet, swim number 12, with a great field and it’s her just taking care of business when the average person would have been complaining about being tired or that the meet was long or difficult. She navigated that stuff very well.”
It doesn’t seem fair to say the expectations were huge for a 17-year-old, but coming in as a four-time world champion, McIntosh had lofty goals for herself. She was proud of the way she managed everything at her second Games, which with relays included 13 swims.
“Overall the whole week – well it was nine days, longer than a week – was a pretty crazy experience,” she said. “I really tried to take it one race at a time. Getting that silver medal the first night got me going and I tried to get better race to race.”
In taking the top national honour for a third straight time, McIntosh matches Kylie Masse’s run from 2017-2019. Masse, a co-captain of the Olympic team, was the other women’s medallist for Canada in Paris, reaching the podium for an incredible third straight Games with bronze in the 200 backstroke. Masse and McIntosh are tied for the most individual medals all-time for Canada with four.
“Kylie is such a class act, she’s an amazing swimmer and human being. She’s such a good leader on our team,” McIntosh said. “It was really cool to have her as one of the captains for our team. She’s been on so many teams and she’s so experienced and mature. She’s been such guidance and a mentor for me. Seeing what she’s accomplished has motivated me, and she’s just a happy person to be around.”
McIntosh – the youngest swimmer on the Olympic team for the second straight Games – was “super happy” with her results, but says she’s “always striving for more” as she looks ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Games. She took three weeks off after Paris, reduced her exposure to outside noise and spent time with friends and family before going back into training with Arckey at the Florida-based Sarasota Sharks.
“Never being satisfied is what keeps me going,” said McIntosh, who turned 18 on Aug. 18.
“I think about LA a lot and I think it’s going to be such an amazing host and amazing Games. I’m going to be 21 there, about to turn 22, which is kind of crazy to think about. I don’t know events-wise what might change, but I’m just really excited to keep growing, become more mature in the sport and be ready for the next Games. I learned so much from Paris and Tokyo as well. Having two Games under my belt heading into my third one, it’s exciting to try to keep the ball moving.”
Arckey said he realized the level of performance McIntosh produced in Paris was possible when she set her first world record in the 400 free at last year’s 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto. According to Arckey, it’s that “consistent drive to be the best she can possibly be” that sets McIntosh apart.
“She’s so good at day in, day out, doing what she needs to do. She’s not afraid of the work, she’s excited about the work,” Arckey said.
He also noted how McIntosh turned a “hiccup” at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships – missing a medal in the 400 free – into a positive.
“While not a great feeling, it was really important in the long term focus and ability to adjust to maybe a not-so-good situation,” Arckey said. “That was such a good learning opportunity. Being able to work through that was an influential point.
Next up is the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest from Dec. 10-15. She’s looking to work 200 backstroke into her program at the short course worlds.
“The day I stepped on deck at the beginning of the season I was super hyped about getting into the new quad, the new season and excited to build off the momentum from the Games,” McIntosh said.
She sees a bright future for herself and her young Canadian teammates.
“For world short course we have three new rookies on the team, that’s so exciting. It’s amazing being on Team Canada and trying to grow Canada bigger and bigger (in swimming.) It’s really promising and exciting,” McIntosh said. “There are more people my age achieving great things, it’s really cool and we’re improving and getting better.”