Canadian Olympic gold medalist Summer McIntosh of Toronto, Ontario won the 2024 Northern Star Award. She was recognized for becoming the first Canadian to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games. In Paris this past summer, McIntosh won gold in the women’s 200 metre butterfly, women’s 200 metre individual medley, and women’s 400 metre individual medley. She also won silver in the women’s 400 metre freestyle.
McIntosh set the Olympic record in the women’s 200 metre butterfly (2:03.03). The previous record belonged to Yufei Zhang of China at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 (2:03.86). McIntosh also set the Olympic record in the women’s 200 metre individual medley (2:06.56). The previous record belonged to Katinka Hosszu of Hungary at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (2:06.58).
A world record was also set by McIntosh in 2024. Prior to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, McIntosh posted a time of 4:24.38 in the women’s 400 metre individual medley at the 2024 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials in Toronto on May 16. She had the previous world record of 4:25.87 at the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto.
McIntosh becomes the ninth swimmer to win the Northern Star Award. She follows Bob Pirie of Toronto (1939), Cliff Lumdsdon of Toronto (1949), Marilyn Bell of Toronto (1954), Beth Whittall of Montreal, Quebec (1955), Canadian Olympic silver medalist Elaine Tanner of Vancouver, British Columbia (1968), Canadian Olympic silver medalist Graham Smith of Edmonton, Alberta (1978), Canadian Olympic gold medalist Mark Tewksbury of Calgary, Alberta (1992), and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Penny Oleksiak of Toronto (2016). Tanner won the Olympic silver medals in the women’s 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Smith won Olympic silver in the men’s 4×100 metre medley relay at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Tewksbury won Olympic gold in the men’s 100 metre backstroke at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Oleksiak won Olympic gold in the women’s 100 metre freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
