Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Summer McIntosh, of Canada, competes in the women’s 200-meter butterfly final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
NANTERRE – Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh claimed her second gold medal of the Paris Olympics with another dominating performance, romping to victory in the 200-meter butterfly Thursday night while dealing American Regan Smith another runner-up finish.
China’s Zhang Yufei, the reigning Olympic champion and of nearly two dozen swimmers from her country who tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Games but were allowed to compete, pushed the pace over the first half of the race. She couldn’t hold on.
McIntosh powered to the lead on the third 50 and left no doubt on the closing lap. She touched in an Olympic-record of 2 minutes, 3.03 seconds.
Smith passed Zhang as well, but had no chance of chasing down the 17-year-old who has established herself as one of the biggest stars at La Defense Arena.
McIntosh opened the games with a silver medal in the 400 freestyle, finishing ahead of Katie Ledecky, and blew away the field in the 400 individual medley.
This was another rout. Smith touched in 2:03.84 for the fourth silver medal of a career, while Zhang held on for the bronze in 2:05.09.
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