Canadian swimmers prepare for Olympic competition in historic French city
CBC
With the sun blasting down on the outside of Stade Nautique Eugène Maës pool in Caen, France on Friday morning, Canadian swimmers continued to churn up the water, exhaustively going back and forth and putting the final touches on their preparation as the clock ticks down to Paris 2024.
For the past week the 28 swimmers from Canada who will compete at the Games have been staging in the French city before traveling to Paris on Monday to enter the Athletes Village.
It's getting real now and there's a palpable intensity around the pool.
"Being as prepared as possible is what I aim for and visualizing what it's going to be like on day one," said Summer McIntosh.
"The Olympics bring pressure but that's just part of the game."
McIntosh, 17, is making her second Olympic appearance. She was just 14-years-old when she made her debut in Tokyo. She was the youngest swimmer on the team then and she's still the youngest swimmer on the team.
But a lot has changed in the past three years for the swimming teenage sensation. McIntosh has captured four world championship titles and is the world record holder in the 400-metre individual medley.
She is considered by many to be one of the most talented swimmers in the world going into the Olympics.
WATCH | McIntosh sits down with Devin Heroux ahead of Paris Olympics:
McIntosh will be competing in four individual events as well as relays. Managing an intense Olympic program and learning how to conserve energy has been the focus of training for McIntosh.
"That means everything. Every day of training these past two years I've been focusing on managing what it's going to be like to have a nine-day swim meet and managing days off."
McIntosh will be in the pool for Canada on the opening day of competition slated for Saturday, July 27. She'll be competing in what is widely considered the most anticipated race of the Games, the women's 400m freestyle.
The Canadian was disappointed with the finish and says she's learned from it.
"I've definitely learned from the past that you have to be ready on day one [of the] heats. That's my focus right now. There are some big races on that opening day," she said.
