Summer McIntosh wins CP female athlete of year in overwhelming vote

No explanation required was the consensus among voters for The Canadian Press award for 2024 female athlete of the year.

During the month before her 18th birthday, Summer McIntosh became the first Canadian to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games, winter or summer, with a silver medal thrown in for good measure.

McIntosh was the overwhelming choice among sports editors, producers and reporters across Canada because of the Toronto swimmer's electric performance in Paris. She was selected on 52 of the 53 votes cast, with the other vote going to skeleton world champion Hallie Clarke of Brighton, Ont.

"Three golds at the Olympics. No other reason needed," wrote TSN managing producer Jamie Bell.

The Canadian Press began recognizing male and female athletes of the year in 1932. McIntosh was a repeat winner after also earning the distinction in 2023.

"It's always an honour, but to do it for a second year in a row is pretty incredible to be recognized like this," McIntosh said.

Previous winners include hockey players Marie-Philip Poulin (2022) and Hayley Wickenheiser (2007), tennis players Leylah Fernandez (2021) and Bianca Andreescu (2019), soccer star Christine Sinclair (2020, 2012), golfer Brooke Henderson (2015, 2017, 2018) and swimmer Penny Oleksiak (2016).

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McIntosh arrived in Paris with an ambitious program. Including heats, semifinals and relays, the Canadian raced 13 times over nine days at La Defense Arena.

Ascending the podium four times — three times to hear O Canada — was a feat of mind and body planning and management.

"Just going into the Olympics, all the training that I did on a day-to-day basis, and mentally, physically preparing for a nine-day-long swim meet, I couldn't have been more prepared and my results showed that," McIntosh said.

"I was really happy with how I did, but honestly, I was just more proud of me pushing myself to reach my full potential and preparing as best as possible, because I do that to give myself the most confidence going into a huge meet like that."

The world record holder was expected to win her bread-and-butter event. McIntosh didn't just deliver. She dominated and won by nearly six seconds, which World Aquatics said was the largest margin in 40 years.

"I definitely knew getting gold was a possibility, so when I finally was able to do it, all my hard work and training came into fruition," McIntosh said. "That was a really cool moment because I knew I could do it, but to actually get it done is a different thing."