PARIS—It would have been a great night at the pool if Team Canada had celebrated nothing more than the return of Summer McIntosh to the Olympic podium with gold around her neck.
That alone would have been a headline-making fourth medal in a single Games, added to two golds and a silver in Paris.
But as the country’s athletes stumbled on the track Saturday, its swimmers floated well above the surface.
McIntosh’s additional gold in the 200-metre individual medley bested Paris teammate Penny Oleksiak’s 2016 Rio record of gold, silver and two bronzes — a feat McIntosh watched on TV, then used as fuel to fire her own greatness.
That greatness has cemented the 17-year-old ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½nian’s place in the pantheon not only of Canadian swimming. It also makes her one of its greatest Olympians, in hot weather or cold — and she likely still has one race to go Sunday with the 4x100-metre medley relay.
Summer McIntosh’s mom, Jill, was also an Olympian and professional swimmer. Her daughter is
Summer’s gold had been forecast well in advance. She described the moment as “surreal,†but it was more a welcome development than a surprise.
 The men’s exploits in the water, though, were something else — like a dream come true.
Scarborough’s Josh Liendo became the first Black Canadian swimmer to win an Olympic medal, taking silver in the 100-metre butterfly.
“It’s awesome, right? It’s a huge milestone and it’s one that I don’t take lightly. There’s definitely a lot of pride to be able to get that,†he said.
Liendo also described it as “surreal,” though his success is less mystery than biomechanics.
“He’s absolutely crazy. He’s just insane in the water, how he pulls and how he kicks,” said teammate Ilya Kharun.
Lest the compliments and accolades go to Liendo’s head, his female teammates in the mixed medley race, where Canada finished fifth, left their shoes behind, leaving the 21-year-old carrying three pairs while fielding questions about his medal.
The other formidable feat of the night truly was a surprise, though it was given voice by Kharun.
A few days ago, he wondered aloud to Liendo, his Olympic Village roommate, about what seemed a distant possibility.
“I was like, ‘What if we both got on the podium? It would just be crazy because it’s never been done before,’ †Kharun recalled.
That was before the Olympic and world-record holder, American Caeleb Dressel, failed to qualify for the 100-metre butterfly final. But it still left a strong field of swimmers, among them the Hungarian 200-metre butterfly world-record holder Kristóf Milák.
Liendo was leading through the first 50 metres, but was edged out by the narrowest of margins in the back half of the race, edging  the Canadian for gold.
Kharun, meanwhile, was in seventh position at the turn and powered through the final lap to seize a medal.
“I knew the competition was so crazy that top three was a dream for the 100 fly,†he said. “But I’m just so glad. I was in disbelief when I touched the wall. It’s so great.â€
It makes a double bronze Paris Games for the Arizona-based swimmer, someone who only joined the Canadian program two years ago .
Kharun’s only possible slip-up of the night as he wound the ribbon of his second medal around his hand was revealing that he stashed the first bronze in his suitcase, lest it be spotted and snatched by a passing stranger.
Now he’ll have to find two hiding spots for his hardware.
Overall, Saturday was a night of firsts and of bests.
- McIntosh, the first Canadian to win three golds at an Olympics.
- Liendo and Kharun, the first double-podium finish since 1976, when swimmers Cheryl Gibson and Becky Smith won silver and bronze in the 400-metre individual medley at the Montreal Games.
- Kharun, the first Canadian man to double medal since Curtis Myden won two bronze medals at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
- And McIntosh setting her second Olympic record of the Paris Games in the 200-metre individual medley, after doing so in the 200-metre butterfly.
All while other kids her age are enjoying summer vacation, maybe watching her on TV as she once watched the exploits of those she now counts as teammates, while carrying the team to swimming greatness.
“There are so many to name,†she said. “Ever since Rio, the swimming community has flipped on its head and we’ve continued to carry that momentum since then.â€
She credited bronze-medallist Kennedy Goss and Kylie Masse, who won her own bronze here in Paris, adding to  two silvers and two bronzes from Tokyo and Rio.
“Now it’s somebody else.â€
Just as seasons change, there will inevitably be some  phenom who comes after Summer McIntosh.
Canada’s golden girl is right about that. But she’s wrong about one thing.
About the idea that anyone will talk about what she’s accomplished and refer to her as “somebody else.â€
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