By: Gabby Zhou

The Olympic Games have started! The world is shocked at amazing young athletes with much potential ahead of them. One of these young athletes is 17-year-old Summer McIntosh, a Canadian swimmer from Ontario, McIntosh won the first Olympic gold medal of her career on Monday night in the women’s 400-meter individual medley event, obtaining a time of 4:27.71. Coming in second and third place, respectively, were Americans Katie Grimes, with a time of 4:33.40, and Emma Weyant, with a time of 4:34.93.

Summer McIntotsh was in the lead by 25 meters of the first stroke, butterfly, and turned into the backstroke with a 1.35 second lead over Katie Grimes. Eventually, Summer McIntosh only further impressed the crowd by showing her dominance in swimming.

Introduction to Summer McIntotsh
Summer Ann McIntosh was born on August 18, 2006. She is a Canadian competitive swimmer and participated in the 2024 Olympic championship in the 400 meter individual medley. She also holds the world record in the event. Summer is a four-time World Aquatics champion, two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, and a two-time Olympic medalist. She has a gold medal in the 400m individual medley and a silver medal in the 400m freestyle competition.

Summer McIntotsh as an Athlete
Summer McIntotsh hasn’t been hiding: She is the world record holder, which is remarkable for someone of her age. Paris 2024 is her second Olympics, after her appearance in Tokyo at age 14, where she set a national record in the 400m freestyle. In the summer of 2022, she established herself not just as an athlete with potential but as one of the best swimmers in the world, which she’s continued with her performance so far in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Resources Used

The New York Times (Athletic):
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5665678/2024/07/29/summer-mcintosh-olympic-swimming-canada-gold-medal/?source=nyt_sports

Time:
https://time.com/7005173/summer-mcintosh-paris-olympics-swimming-400-im/

ABC Action News
https://www.abcactionnews.com/sports/olympics/sarasota-local-emma-weyant-wins-bronze-in-400m-individual-medley-at-paris-olympics

The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/07/29/summer-mcintosh-canada-swimming-paris-olympics/

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/canadian-phenom-summer-mcintosh-olympic-190703758.html

Wyoming News
https://www.wyomingnews.com/2024olympics/17-year-old-canadian-summer-mcintosh-wins-gold-in-400-meter-im-her-second-medal/article_3980463a-955e-5287-ad21-373182270133.html