Olympic viewing guide: Summer McIntosh has a great chance to win her first gold
CBC
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Seventeen-year-old swimming sensation Summer McIntosh won her first Olympic medal (and Canada's first of the Paris Games) on Saturday, taking silver in the women's 400m freestyle.
Though she seemed a bit disappointed, that was a good result for McIntosh. She was an underdog to Australia's Ariarne Titmus, who repeated as Olympic champion, and McIntosh finished ahead of six-time Olympic individual gold medallist Katie Ledecky in maybe the most competitive swimming event in Paris.
On Monday, McIntosh steps into the role of favourite. By a lot. The betting odds imply she has a better than 90 per cent chance of winning gold in the women's 400-metre individual medley -- a gruelling event where swimmers complete eight laps using four different strokes: the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.
McIntosh holds the world record in the 400 IM and is the de facto two-time reigning world champion. She won back-to-back titles in 2022 and '23 before skipping this year's worlds -- along with most of the planet's top swimmers -- because they happened too close to the Olympics. McIntosh also went back-to-back in the 200m butterfly, making her the first Canadian swimmer to capture four world titles.
WATCH | CBC's Meg Roberts looks ahead to Day 3 of the Paris Olympics:
At the 2023 worlds, McIntosh won the 400 IM by more than four seconds over 18-year-old American Katie Grimes, who was also the runner-up in 2022. Other challengers include worlds bronze medallists Emma Weyant of the U.S. and Jenna Forrester of Australia. Reigning Olympic champion Yui Ohashi of Japan did not qualify.
The women's 400 IM heats start at 5 a.m. ET, and the final is at 2:30 p.m. ET.
One other Canadian swimmer made Monday's finals. Mary-Sophie Harvey will compete in the women's 200m freestyle at 3:41 p.m. ET after placing eighth overall in today's semifinals. Titmus is favoured to repeat as Olympic champion. McIntosh took bronze in the 200 free at last year's worlds, but she dropped it from her Olympic slate to focus on her other four solo events.
Judo: Christa Deguchi goes for gold
The 28-year-old Olympic rookie won her second world title last year and added a silver at this year's world championships. She's ranked No. 1 in the world and is favoured to win gold in the women's 57-kilogram division.
The one-day tournament begins at 4 a.m. ET. Deguchi has a bye to the round of 16 and will be in the 13th match of the day on mat 1. The medal rounds begin at 10 a.m. ET, so Deguchi could have a chance to win Canada's first gold of the Games.
For the most part, this is a single-elimination bracket. Except, the four judokas who lose in the quarterfinals move into a repechage draw where they have an opportunity to win one of the two bronze medals that will be awarded.
Gymnastics: Canada in the men's team final at 11:30 a.m. ET
