Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh won the silver medal in the women’s 400-metre freestyle final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Aged just 17, McIntosh covered the distance in three minutes 58.37 seconds, 0.88 seconds behind Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, the world record holder in the discipline (3:55.38) since July 22, 2023.
American Katie Ledecky finished third in 4:00.86.
In addition to providing Canada with its first medal of the Paris Games, McIntosh will touch an Olympic podium for the first time in his young career.
Despite his best efforts, McIntosh was never able to catch Titmus, who led the competition from start to finish.
At the halfway point, Titmus held a lead of 35 hundredths of a second over McIntosh, which she managed to increase after each 50-meter segment until the end of the race.
Earlier in the day, the women’s and men’s 4x100m freestyle relays qualified for the finals, scheduled for later Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s Margaret Mac Neil posted the third-fastest time in the second semifinal of the 100-metre butterfly, advancing to Sunday’s final. The 24-year-old, who clocked 56.55 seconds, will attempt to defend her Olympic title.