Summer McIntosh returns to Toronto after historic Olympic performance

Summer McIntosh is back home in Toronto after making history at the 2024 Olympic Games, but the 17-year-old swimmer admits the reality of her record-breaking performance in Paris hasn’t “fully sunk in yet.”

“I think the main thing for me, when I’m competing, is just trying to keep it as simple as possible and not really think about what’s going to happen afterwards,” she told reporters at Toronto Pearson International Airport late Tuesday afternoon moments after stepping off the plane.

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“But now, I’ll take some time off training and racing and stuff, and swimming in general, and I can enjoy this moment and appreciate all that has happened in the past few weeks.”

McIntosh brought home four medals during the nine-day meet, and became the country’s first-ever triple gold medallist.

One of those gold’s came in the 200-metre butterfly, a race which her mother, Jill McIntosh (nee Horstead) competed in at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“The fact that my mom swam the 200 fly back in 1984 Olympic Games and for me to get the gold medal in the 2024 Games, its pretty cool,” she said.

The significance of that win not lost on Jill, either.

“It was an amazing experience for all of us,” she said. “We are so, so proud of Summer, how hard she’s worked and all her hard work’s paid off. As parents, you can’t be more proud.”

Canadian Olympic Swimmer Summer McIntosh, right, and her mother Jill pose for a photograph after arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ont., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

McIntosh won gold in the 400-metre medley and 200-metre individual medley, with an Olympic-record time of two minutes and 6.56 seconds. She also won a silver in the 400-metre freestyle, tying teammate Penny Oleksiak’s four-medal performance in Rio.

As for what’s next for the swimming phenom, McIntosh said she’s headed to the family cottage, but would return to Paris if she’s asked to be the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies on Aug. 11.

“That would be awesome,” she said.