Canada's Summer Mcintosh Puts Olympic Gold Treble Down To 'hard Work' And Support From Team

PARIS, Aug 4 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Canada's Summer McIntosh completed an Olympic hat-trick of gold medals when she won the women's 200m individual medley in a new Olympic record of 2:06.56 seconds, Xinhua reported.

She added this gold to the gold medals she had already won in the pool in the 200m butterfly and 400m medley, becoming the first Canadian to win three gold medals at the same Olympic Games.

"It's pretty surreal. I'm just so proud of myself and how I've been able to recover and manage events," said the swimmer, who put her success down to "hard work and dedication," and "all my family and my teammates, and my coaches have also worked so hard for me to be here today," commented the swimmer.

She said she owed that "so many (athletes) before me that have led the way and inspired me to be where I am today. I really owe a lot back to them."

A race that saw the lead change hands three times was finally decided in the last 25 metres as McIntosh produced a stunning finish on the freestyle to overtake Kate Douglass of the United States, who finished in 2:06.92, while Kaylee McKeown took bronze in 2:08.08, while Yu Yiting of China finished in fourth.

The American duo of Douglass and Alex Walsh (who was later disqualified) were leading after the butterfly, before McIntosh retook the lead on the backstroke.

It looked as if a powerful third leg on the breaststroke would win it for Douglass, but McIntosh found a turn of speed to overtake the American and claim her historic third medal of the Games, along with a silver from the 400m freestyle. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA