{"id":593565,"date":"2024-08-01T11:40:41","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T18:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=593565"},"modified":"2024-08-03T14:38:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T21:38:33","slug":"paris-olympics-day-6-finals-summer-mcintosh-crushes-second-fastest-time-ever-olympic-record-for-200-fly-triumph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/paris-olympics-day-6-finals-summer-mcintosh-crushes-second-fastest-time-ever-olympic-record-for-200-fly-triumph\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Olympics, Day 6 Finals: Summer McIntosh Crushes Second-Fastest Time Ever, Olympic Record For 200 Fly Triumph"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paris Olympics, Day 6 Finals: Summer McIntosh Crushes Second-Fastest Time Ever, Olympic Record For 200 Fly Triumph<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was one race of significance when Summer McIntosh<\/strong> cracked. Entering the World Championships final of the 400 freestyle in 2023 as the world-record holder, McIntosh never reached her preferred pace and ended up falling entirely off the podium. But was she rattled? Of course not. This day one disappointment was quickly remedied with an individual bronze and two golds in her remaining events.<\/p>\n

Already in her fourth global-level competition but still short of her 18th birthday, McIntosh has been reliably brilliant in every other moment with medals on the line. She is not undefeated in World Championships or Olympic finals, but she consistently comes through to match or exceed any reasonable expectations. Such was the case earlier this week in Paris, when McIntosh won a strong silver behind\u00a0Ariarne Titmus<\/strong> in the 400 free<\/a> or when she dominated the 400 IM final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, McIntosh has done it again in the 200 butterfly, holding off a stellar final turn from American rival Regan Smith<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>to secure her second Olympic gold medal. In the process, McIntosh smashed her lifetime best by a full second, recording a time of 2:03.03 for the second-fastest performance in history.<\/p>\n

“It means the world, especially in that event. I\u2019ve always loved the 200 fly growing up. It\u2019s also just fun and such an enjoyable race,” McIntosh said. “I\u2019m really happy with the time, even though I definitely think I had 2:02 in me. I think my finish was a little bit weird. But I can never complain about a best time, especially by that much.”<\/p>\n

China’s\u00a0Zhang Yufei<\/strong>, the gold medalist in the event three years ago, was out under world-record pace at the 50-meter mark, but McIntosh and Smith never let the Chinese veteran get too far ahead. McIntosh took over the lead on the third length by eight tenths, and she held on for gold despite Smith’s spirited closing effort. In the process, McIntosh broke the Olympic record of 2:03.86 that Zhang set three years ago in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

“In fly, it\u2019s kind of hard to see people sometimes, but tonight I could kind of feel out where I was,” McIntosh said. “At the 125 mark, I hadn\u2019t even started trying in the race yet. I was really, really controlling it as much as possible. Usually I go out a bit faster, but I don\u2019t know, for whatever reason, I decided to take it home as best as possible. Overall, it worked out.”<\/p>\n

Smith won silver in 2:03.84, her second consecutive Olympic silver in the event. She knocked three hundredths off the American record she set last year and becoming history’s fourth-fastest performer behind China’s Liu Zige<\/strong>, McIntosh and Australia’s Jessicah Schipper<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Zhang took bronze in 2:05.09. Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers<\/strong> and Denmark’s\u00a0Helena Rosendahl Bach<\/strong> tied for fourth in 2:07.11, with 17-year-old American\u00a0Alex Shackell<\/strong> taking sixth (2:07.73).<\/p>\n