200 metres Individual Medley, Women

This race was expected to be a battle between Canada’s Summer McIntosh and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown. McIntosh had already won gold medals in Paris, in the 400 IM and the 200 butterfly. McKeown won this event at the 2022 World Championships and led the world list for 2024 coming into the Paris Olympics. Also expecting to contend for medals were the two Americans: Alex Walsh, the 2020 silver medalist, and Kate Douglass, the 2020 bronze medalist.

Walsh, McIntosh, and Douglass led the semi-final qualifying, as McKeown barely made the final, placing seventh. She swam that semi shortly after the 200 metre backstroke, in which she won gold, and then had to stand for the medal ceremony, shortening her warm-up.

Only seven swimmers would start the final, after Australia’s Ella Ramsay withdrew with an illness. Douglass took the final lead on the backstroke leg, but McIntosh moved ahead on the butterfly and would never be caught, coming home with her third gold medal at Paris 2024, in an Olympic record 2:06.56. Behind her, Douglass and Walsh fought out the other medals, with Douglass taking silver and Walsh seemingly giving the USA two medals, as they had in Tokyo. Within minutes, however, Walsh was disqualified for an illegal backstroke-to-breaststroke turn, and McKeown would move up to the bronze medal.

McIntosh ended her Paris Olympics with four medals, three of them gold medals. Douglass would also take home four Olympic medals, winning gold in the 200 breaststroke and the women’s medley relay. McKeown would have the biggest medal haul in Paris, winning five, including golds in both backstroke events. This gave her a career total of nine medals – in nine Olympic events.