PARIS – Canada’s relay teams couldn’t tie a bow on one of country’s most successful Olympic swim meets Sunday, but the team’s depth produced a record number of medals in individual events in Paris.
Eight medals in individual distances, including Summer McIntosh’s three gold and a silver, was the most at a non-boycotted Summer Games.
Canada’s host team in Montreal in 1976 also won eight medals, but three in relays. Canadian swimmers produced 10 medals in the 1984 boycotted Games in Los Angeles, including two relays.
Canada ranked third in overall medals in Paris behind juggernaut United States with 28 and Australia with 18, and ahead of host France’s seven. The French ranked ahead of Canada in gold, however, with four from Leon Marchand.
McIntosh moved into a new sport stratosphere as Canada’s first triple gold medallist at an Olympic Games, winter or summer. She will be 21 years old in Los Angeles in 2028.
“It’s been kind of some of the craziest days of my life this past week and a bit, so just trying to soak in this moment and know that this does only come around every four years,” she said. “I’m already thinking about L.A. to be honest.”
McIntosh captured gold in the 200-metre butterfly and 400 and 200 individual medleys, and produced two Olympic records doing it. She laid the foundation for those swims with a 400-metre silver on opening night.“It’s new territory,” said Swimming Canada high-performance director John Atkinson.
“When you are groundbreaking in doing those things, aiming for individual medals and relays, it’s a hard ask. Not many athletes have done that. You’re talking Katie Ledecky, Michael Phelps, (Mark) Spitz, Leon Marchand, and Summer McIntosh. She lives in that category now.”
The Toronto teenager didn’t get a storybook conclusion Sunday of a fifth medal, which would have tied speedskater Cindy Klassen for the most by a Canadian at any Olympic Games.
The freestyle anchor leg of the women’s medley relay was McIntosh’s 13th race in nine days, from her freestyle heats on opening morning to the medley relays that closed out the competition.
Backstroker Kylie Masse, breaststroker Sophie Angus and butterfly specialist Maggie Mac Neil kept Canada in silver-medal position and McIntosh ran second at the turn.
The 17-year-old couldn’t hold it, however, and was overtaken by eventual silver medallist Australia and bronze medallist China on the home stretch behind the victorious U.S.
“Going into today, I just tried to leave everything I have left in the pool,” McIntosh said. “No one’s feeling fresh Day 9, so everyone’s kind of in the same boat. I just tried my best for Canada.”
For all Canada’s success at La Defense Arena, the seven relays were shut out of the medals, including fourth place in two women’s relays.
“Definitely hard,” said Mac Neil, who has said Paris was her last Olympic Games. “This was our best shot to get on that podium, and we were super close, but it’s been a long week, and it’s what we trained for. We put up a good fight today.”
The men’s medley relay finished fifth Sunday.
Women won all six swimming medals in Rio and six again in Tokyo three years ago. Joshua Liendo’s silver and Ilya Kharun’s double bronze marked a resurgence on the men’s side.
Atkinson had predicted “six and beyond” for Paris and the team delivered.
“You have to be happy with that,” said Atkinson. “We’ve seen history made on so many levels.”
Aside from McIntosh’s heroics, Toronto’s Liendo became the first Black Canadian to win an Olympic medal with a butterfly silver. He and Kharun, who won silver and bronze in the 100 fly, achieved the first-ever double podium for Canadian male swimmers in an Olympic event.
Masse was the first Canadian swimmer to win medals in three consecutive Games in individual events with her bronze. Canadians reached 20 finals in Paris, compared to 13 in Tokyo and 15 in Rio, Atkinson added. They finished fourth sixth times in Paris.
“You look at it, you always think … maybe could have got a bit more, but that’s what performance sport is,” Atkinson said. “You kind of roll with it. You try to convert as many of the opportunities that you have when you’re here and sustain it for nine days.”
While other countries with fewer contenders had cleared their equipment and gear out of La Defense by Sunday’s finale, Canada’s massage tables, medicine balls, rollers and mats were still there and support staff was still prepping athletes Sunday.
“That shows you where the depth’s at,” Atkinson said. “We’re not packed up until the last race is done.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version had Canadian women’s finishing fourth in all three women’s relays.