By Canadian Press

Olympic roundup: McIntosh strikes gold again, Canada’s medal streak continues

Aug 1, 2024 | 3:41 PM

PARIS — Summer McIntosh’s suitcase is getting heavier by the day.

The Canadian swimming star won her third medal and second gold of the Paris Olympics with a victory in the women’s 200-metre butterfly Thursday.

Her time of two minutes 3.03 seconds, in the event her mother Jill Horstead raced in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, was an Olympic record.

“It’s pretty cool winning the 200 fly because that, by far, was her main event. So to share that moment with her is pretty cool,” she said. “I know she is so proud of me along with the rest of my family. I can’t thank them enough.”

McIntosh also joined George Hodgson in 1912 and Alex Baumann in 1984 as the only double-gold Canadian swimmers at an Olympic Games.

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The 17-year-old from Toronto won the 400-metre individual medley Monday and claimed silver in the 400 freestyle last Saturday.

Next up, McIntosh will try to add to her haul with a medal in the 200 individual medley. Heats begin Friday and the final set for Saturday.

Her medal Thursday extended Canada’s streak to six straight days on the podium since the opening ceremony.

Elsewhere Thursday, Wyatt Sanford ensured Canada will end an Olympic boxing drought, Felix Auger-Aliassime set himself up to compete for two tennis medals and Canada fell just short of another fencing podium.

Sanford advanced to the semifinals of the men’s 63.5-kilogram weight class, defeating Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Abdullaev in the quarterfinals at North Paris Arena. He’ll meet Sofiane Oumiha of France on Sunday.

The 25-year-old from Kennetcook, N.S., won the match with a score of 4-1 and will take home at least a bronze. There are two bronze medals in boxing, meaning those who make it to the semifinals are guaranteed a spot on the podium.

Canada has not won an Olympic boxing medal since David Defiagbon’s heavyweight silver in Atlanta in 1996, and has not captured gold in boxing since Lennox Lewis’s super heavyweight-title at the Seoul Games in 1988.

“Finally, after 28 years, we will be bringing a medal from boxing back home. Kennetcook wants the gold and I want to give it to them,” said Sanford in a Boxing Canada press release.

“We knew that my opponent would come throwing multiple shots with combinations. Once we figured that we had to cut off his jab with my right hook, he was not throwing as much as he was early on in the fight.”

Auger-Aliassime defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 in the men’s singles quarterfinals.

The 23-year-old from Montreal is guaranteed to compete for a medal in both men’s singles and mixed doubles.

He’ll meet Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s singles semifinal.

In mixed doubles, Auger-Aliassime and Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski will play the Dutch duo of Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof for a bronze medal on Friday. The Canadians dropped Thursday’s semifinal to Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-3.

Canada has won only one Olympic tennis medal, when Sébastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor triumphed in men’s doubles at the 2000 Sydney Games.

“We experience ups and downs over the year. I’ve had them in my career,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Sometimes, I’m criticized. I also criticize myself, but I never stop working or persevering and it’s a pleasure for me and the whole team when it pays off like this.”

Canada continued to make noise in fencing, but won’t have a medal to show for it this time. The Canadians finished fourth in the women’s team foil competition after losing to Japan 33-32 in a hard-fought bronze-medal bout.

With Canada down by three, Hamilton’s Eleanor Harvey cut Japan’s lead to one but ran out of time in the final round.

Harvey and her teammates narrowly defeated Olympic host France earlier in the day to reach the semifinal before falling to a strong U.S. team by a score of 45-31.

“I really was hoping that we could win a medal. But when we beat France, we already remade (Canadian) history for best result for women’s foil at an Olympics,” Harvey said. “That’s something to be proud of.”

Harvey won Canada’s first-ever Olympic medal in the sport last Sunday with a bronze in the women’s individual foil.

Fares Arfa of Laval, Que., also upset three-time defending Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi of Hungary in the men’s sabre competition last week before narrowly losing to eventual gold medallist Oh Sang-uk of South Korea in the quarterfinals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2024.

The Canadian Press