Summer McIntosh wins record second gold, fourth medal as Canada completes best-ever showing


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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Fifteen-year-old Summer McIntosh became the first Canadian to win two gold medals at a FINA world championships on Saturday with a victory in the women’s 400-metre individual medley.

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Canada’s swimming team added to its best-ever medal performance at the worlds in the pool with two more podium finishes on the last day.

The women’s 4×100-meter medley relay added a bronze as anchor Penny Oleksiak became Canada’s all-time most decorated swimmer at a world championships with nine medals.

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Canada ends the worlds with 11 medals (three gold, four silver and four bronze) for third in total podiums behind the United States and Australia.

Its previous best was eight medals at the 2019 worlds in Gwangju, South Korea.

In the 400 individual medley, McIntosh clocked a world junior record 4:32.04 with Katie Grimes of the US second in 4:32.67. Another American Emma Weyant was third at 4:36.00.

This past week, McIntosh also won gold in the 200-m butterfly, silver in the 400-meter freestyle and helped Canada to bronze in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Her three individual medals were all world junior marks.

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At 15 years and 311 days, McIntosh is the second youngest winner of the women’s 400 individual medley behind Tracy Caulkins of the US who was 15-224 in her 1978 victory.

McIntosh is also the first Canadian to win four medals at a single worlds.

However in the women’s 4×100 medley relay final, Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez added their names to the four-medal club as Canada clocked three minutes 55.01 seconds. Also swimming in the end were Kylie Masse, Rachel Nicol and Maggie MacNeil.

It was Nicol’s first career worlds medal.

Masse, who won gold in the 50-meter backstroke and silver in the 100 back this week, is now tied for a second overall with Ryan Cochrane with eight career medals.

In the preliminaries, Mac Neil was joined by Ingrid Wilm, Kelsey Wog and Sanchez. Sanchez reached the podium in three other relays this week with bronze in the women’s 4×200 freestyle and 4×100 freestyle and silver in the mixed 4×100 freestyle.

The US took the gold in 3:53.78 and Australia was second in 3:54.25.

In the men’s 4×100 medley relay, Canada was 11th in the preliminaries with Javier Acevedo, James Dergousoff, Joshua Liendo and Ruslan Gaziev clocking 3:35.62.

Liendo was the big star on the men’s side for Canada this week with bronze in the 100 free and 100 fly and silver in the mixed 4X100 free relay.

Open water swimming gets underground in Budapest on Sunday.


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