NANTERRE, France (AP) — Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh claimed the first gold medal of her just-burgeoning career Monday night with a dominating victory in the 400-meter individual medley at the Paris Olympics.
The 17-year-old McIntosh collected her first medal of any color on the opening night of swimming, taking a silver in the 400 freestyle behind Ariarne Titmus — and ahead of Katie Ledecky.
Now, McIntosh has the most prized color of all.
“I try to take every event very individually and just do my work, but starting off for me — getting on the podium — is definitely a great way to start,” McIntosh said. “You try to continue to get better and better.”
She pushed the pace hard through the first half of the grueling race — the butterfly and backstroke legs — to leave everyone in her wake except American Katie Grimes.
McIntosh was under her own world-record pace, but couldn't keep it going. She touched in 4 minutes, 27.71 seconds, more than three seconds off the mark of 4:24.38 she set at the Canadian trials in May.
But it was more than enough to blow away the field in the Olympic final.
McIntosh seemed to take it all in stride. Maybe it's because she competed at the Tokyo Olympics at age 14, so she sort of feels like a veteran now.
“Every single time I get to race on the world stage, I learn more and more about handling mentally and physically and emotionally and trying not to get too high or too low,” McIntosh said.
She's got a grueling schedule in Paris which includes two more individual races — the 200 butterfly and 200 IM.
There are no plans to celebrate just yet.
“I mean, obviously I’m super happy with this gold,” McIntosh said. “But now I’m all about the 200 fly on day five.”
Grimes, who is also swimming the open water event in Paris, held on to claim the silver in 4:33.40. The Americans also grabbed the bronze when Emma Weyant touched in 4:34.93.
David Popovici made the teenagers 2-for-2 on the night when he pulled off a thrilling victory in the men’s 200 freestyle.
The 19-year-old Romanian was among three swimmers who swapped the lead back and forth on the final lap. First, it was American Luke Hobson edging in front. Then Britain’s Matthew Richards, out in Lane 1, pushed to the lead.
Finally, it was Popovici mustering everything he had to get to the wall in 1:44.72 -- a mere two-hundredths ahead of Richards, with Hobson just 0.07 back to earn the bronze.
Britain’s Duncan Scott, the silver medalist in Tokyo three years ago, finished in 1:44.87 to miss out on the podium this time. The top four were separated by a mere 0.15 seconds.
Thomas Ceccon gave Italy its second gold in as many nights at La Defense Arena, rallying to win the men's 100 backstroke.
China's Xu Jiayu led at the turn, just ahead of American Ryan Murphy — the 2016 gold medalist. Ceccon was third, but he switched to another gear on the return lap.
The Italian, who has held the world record since the 2022 world championships in Budapest, now has a gold medal to go with it after finishing in 52.00.
Xu claimed the silver (52.32), while the 29-year-old Murphy settled for the bronze for the second Olympics in a row at 52.39.
Ceccon followed Nicolo Martinenghi, who grabbed Italy's first gold at the pool with a victory in the 100 breaststroke Sunday night.
In the only semifinals of the night, Australia's Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith of the U.S. set up a much-anticipated duel in the women's 100 backstroke.
They each won their heats, with McKeown posting the fastest time (57.97) ad McKeown right on her heels (57.99).
McKeown is the reigning Olympic champion and former world-record holder — a mark that Smith snatched away with time of 57.13 at the U.S. trials last month.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
