Summer McIntosh opens Commonwealth Games with record-setting gold medal
Canadian women's track cyclists, men's gymnasts each earn silver; mixed 4x100m relay grabs bronze
Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh delivered a dominant performance to capture gold in the women's 400-metre individual medley on Day 1 of the Commonwealth Games on Friday.
The 15-year-old phenom set a new Games record while touching the wall in a time of 4:29.01 at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham, England.
The Toronto native cruised to victory while finishing 7.77 seconds ahead of silver medallist Kiah Melverton of Australia. It is Canada's second medal and first gold at these Games.
Scotland's Katie Shanahan claimed bronze with a time of 4:39.37.
WATCH | McIntosh wins Canada's 1st gold medal at 2022 Commonwealth Games:
Fellow Canadians Ella Jansen (4:40.17) and Tessa Cieplucha (4:42.27) finished fifth and eighth, respectfully.
McIntosh posted the top time in qualifying earlier on Friday with 4:36.72. She won gold in the event in Budapest last month to become Canada's youngest-ever swimming world champion.
McIntosh is the third fastest performer in the event's history and is closing the gap on the world record of 4:26.36 set by Hungarian Katinka Hosszu at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
"I was excited to re-do my time from worlds and see what I can do to get better," McIntosh said. "I've been working on a lot of stuff in training so I can execute my 400m IM better than I did at worlds, because I had so much room for improvement, and I still do."
Canada added one more medal in the pool later Friday by taking bronze in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay.
The team of Javier Acevedo, Josh Liendo, Rebecca Smith and Maggie Mac Neil placed third in a time of 3:24.86, fending off a feisty fourth-place Welsh team thanks to Mac Neil's strong anchor leg.
Australia, which set the world record at world championships last month, won gold in 3:21.18 while hosts England earned silver in 3:22.45.
WATCH | Canada bursts to bronze in 4x100m freestyle relay:
Liendo, who won two individual bronze medals at world to become the first Black Canadian to reach the podium in an individual event ever at the meet, recorded the third-fastest split, swimming the second leg in 47.89 seconds.
Mac Neil, the three-time Olympic medallist from London, Ont., blazed to the third-fastest anchor leg (53.51) to ensure Canada would wind up on the podium.
Acevedo and Liendo were also part of the 4x100m freestyle team that won silver at worlds. But there was complete turnover on the women's side, with Penny Oleksiak skipping the Commonwealth Games and Kayla Sanchez switching allegiance to the Phillipines.
Several other Canadian swimmers advanced on Friday, too.
WATCH | McIntosh receives gold medal:
Three Canadians qualified for the women's 100m butterfly final set for Saturday, including Mac Neil.
The reigning Olympic champion booked her spot while winning her semifinal in 57.72 seconds. Katerine Savard (58.57) and Smith (58.59) also qualified for the medal race.
Fellow Canadian Olympians Liendo and Finlay Knox advanced to the men's 50m butterfly semifinals, while Acevedo qualified for the men's 100m backstroke semifinals.
Tokyo Olympic teammate Katrina Bellio secured a spot in the women's 200m freestyle final.
Canada's James Dergousoff placed seventh in the men's 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:13.85.
WATCH | Canada's swimmers set to take Commonwealth Games by storm:
Second straight silver
Canada's male gymnasts repeated their feat from 2018, taking silver in the team event.
Boosted by impressive scores in the rings and vault, the young Canadian squad totalled 241.2 points, edging out bronze-medallist Cyprus (239.65).
WATCH | Canadian male gymnasts secure silver:
Host England ran away with gold with a total score of 254.55 points.
After Canada's lone male Olympian in gymnastics, Rene Cournoyer, withdrew late from the Games, the team's chances look to take a hit.
But the new-look group featuring Felix Dolci, Mathys Jalbert, Chris Kaji, Jayson Rampersad and Kenji Tamane showed they have a bright future themselves and rebounded to match the 2018 result.
Canada wins team sprint silver
The Canadian trio of Kelsey Mitchell, Lauriane Genest and Sarah Orban cycled to a silver medal in the women's team sprint final at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, England.
The Canadians finished just behind gold medallists New Zealand in a time of 48.001, while the Kiwis set a new Games-record with a time of 47.425.
WATCH | Canadian cyclists score silver:
Wales bested England for bronze in a time of 47.767.
Canada's Tyler Rorke, Nick Wammes and Ryan Dodyk fell short in the men's team sprint bronze final later on Friday, also finishing behind New Zealand.
Australia led qualifying and went on to beat England for the gold medal in a Games-record time of 42.040.
WATCH | The History of Canada's connection to the Commonwealth Games:
With files from The Associated Press
