Summer McIntosh earns swimming silver in Paris

Summer McIntosh laid the foundation for her ambitious Olympic swim program in Paris with a silver medal in the women's 400-metre freestyle on Saturday's opening day at the pool.

PARIS – Summer McIntosh laid the foundation for her ambitious Olympic swim program in Paris with a silver medal in the women’s 400-metre freestyle on Saturday’s opening day at the pool.

The 17-year-old Toronto teenager claimed the first Olympic medal of her career and Canada’s first of the 2024 Olympic Games.

The world-record holder in the 400 individual medley will compete in her specialty on Monday followed by the 200-metre butterfly, and 200-metre IM later in the week. McIntosh is also expected to join the 4×200 freestyle relay squad.

“Going into tonight, I just wanted to put my best foot forward and race as hard as I could,” McIntosh said. “I’m pretty happy with the result.

“I mean, the Olympics is always pretty nerve-wracking. There’s a lot of anticipation going into each race, so kind of learning how to deal with that and also kind of feed off the crowd.”

A 14-year-old McIntosh was fourth in the 400 free three years ago in Tokyo where Australia’s Ariarne Titmus denied Katie Ledecky of the United States a repeat.

Titmus defended her crown Saturday by pushing the pace off the blocks and taking an early lead that the 23-year-old never relinquished.

McIntosh in the next lane ran second the entire distance. Ledecky, 27, faded at the end to finish over a body length behind McIntosh for bronze and the 11th medal of the American’s career.