PARIS, July 30 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Teenage swimmers Summer McIntosh and David Popovici lived up to their billing as future stars by winning gold medals in their respective events at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
McIntosh blitzed her rivals to win the women's 400m individual medley final in the opening medal race of the evening session at La Defense Arena.
The Canadian led from start to finish to clinch gold in four minutes 27.71 seconds. Kelly Grimes of the United States took silver in 4:33.40 and her compatriot Emma Weyant claimed bronze in 4:34.93.
"I'm just trying to make team Canada proud and set the tone," Xinhua news agency reported McIntosh said.
"I couldn't really see anything until the breaststroke, then I knew I was in a comfortable lead going into that last 100m. It was an amazing feeling."
The 17-year-old, who holds the world record in the event, said she was not overawed by performing on the Olympic stage.
"It's always just about having fun, as well as pushing my body to its limits," she said of her maiden Olympic title. "I try to take every event individually, one by one. I try not to get too high or too low."
Popovici also secured his first Olympic gold medal by winning the men's 200m freestyle final. The 19-year-old Romanian, already a dual world champion, touched the wall in one minute 44.72 seconds, just two hundredths of a second ahead of Britain's Matthew Richards.
Luke Hobson of the United States took bronze in 1:44.79.
Germany's Lukas Martens, who won gold in the men's 400m freestyle on Saturday, led early before fading in the final 50m to finish sixth.
"I feel amazing," Popovic said. "It's so great to be here. There are many Romanians in the crowd. It's beautiful, it's a dream come true. I don't know how to describe it. It's so simple, yet so beautiful."
Popovici has been touted as a future star since winning gold in the 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle at the world championships in Budapest two years ago.
-- BERNAMA-XINHUA
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