PARIS – There was a moment, barely detectable if your eyes weren’t trained on the pool deck at La Defense Arena, that Summer McIntosh perhaps sensed the magnitude of the moment.
These were expected to be her Games, after all, a fact of which she’s well aware, along with a reality that no amount of coddling from her handlers can lighten the weight of expectations.
So, on that early Saturday evening in Paris, with a deep breath and a shrug of her shoulders, the Toronto teen climbed onto the block in Lane 6 and dove in.
In the three minutes and 58.37 seconds that followed, McIntosh showed that poise and professionalism are an abundant part of her arsenal, competitive complements to her elite talent.
“To be mentally and physically prepared to stand up on the first night and be Canada’s first medallist from all sports in the Olympics it carries a toll,” Swimming Canada high performance director and national coach John Atkinson said following his top athlete’s silver-medal swim. “Anyway, that’s done now … She’s an Olympic medallist. A silver medallist and now it’s recovery to get ready for what comes next.”
What awaits could truly be special — for the sport, for the athlete and for her country. She will race in three more individual events and possibly two more relays. The action starts on Monday with the 400-metre medley, where she is the world-record holder. If all goes to plan, the medal haul could be staggering.
Prior to the Games, McIntosh brushed off the notion of pressure and expectations, telling Postmedia that she was “getting kind of used to it at this point” and that “all I hear is the support.”
In a sold out La Defense Arena on Saturday, McIntosh heard much more from a sold-out crowd that could not wait to see a showdown with two of the world’s established best: Ariarne Titmus of Australia, who would go on to win gold, and American star Katie Ledecky, who was well behind the Canadian in third.
“The Olympics is always nerve-wracking and there’s a lot of anticipation going into each race,” McIntosh acknowledged afterwards. “I’m kind of learning how to deal with that.”
She’s dealing just fine, it turns out. Zooming in for another close up of McIntosh on the pool deck, even as she was being awarded her silver medal, there were moments where mentally her mind seemed elsewhere – specifically on the 4x100m freestyle relay she would race 10 minutes later.
The fact McIntosh thrived in the challenge on opening night of the meet could be a good sign for her ambitious itinerary here. Whatever nerves she seem to be are gone, and she can build momentum as the meet continues.
“At this level, it’s about racing on the day of and I think she handled the moment pretty well,” her coach Brent Arckey said following Saturday’s sterling effort. “That’s been years in the making. A lot of that goes to her mentally and her tenacity wanting to be the best that she can be.”
There will be no reigning in that tenacity when she returns to the pool on Monday — not that McIntosh ever slips down to that gear, anyway. Like Sunday, Tuesday will be an off day and an opportunity to rest and recover.
The 400m individual medley is her calling card, a race she lowered her own world record in at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Toronto back in May, in the type of performance that dazzles her older teammates.
“It sounds crazy, but I think every time she dives into the pool, we’re expecting something spectacular,” said Canadian backstroke ace Kylie Masse, who at 28 is 11 years her senior. “That’s just the type of athlete that she is.”
There was a further window into that internal drive when McIntosh expressed disappointment in not being able to catch Titmus, who led wire-to-wire, for gold. Yes, she was thrilled with the accomplishment, but clearly she wants more.
“You’re not a champion if you settle for second and third,” Atkinson said in describing that McIntosh mindset. “You’re always going to want to get more. The first day, it’s something to celebrate and be happy about. There was pressure but there’s a toughness about her, both physical and mental. It was not only the first race of the Olympic Games, it’s being up on the first day and knowing you are carrying the expectations you have for yourself and then (delivering.)”