Olympic viewing guide: Summer McIntosh has a great chance to win her first gold
The Canadian phenom is a massive favourite in her best event
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Seventeen-year-old swimming sensation Summer McIntosh won her first Olympic medal (and Canada's first of the Paris Games) on Saturday, taking silver in the women's 400m freestyle.
Though she seemed a bit disappointed, that was a good result for McIntosh. She was an underdog to Australia's Ariarne Titmus, who repeated as Olympic champion, and McIntosh finished ahead of six-time Olympic individual gold medallist Katie Ledecky in maybe the most competitive swimming event in Paris.
On Monday, McIntosh steps into the role of favourite. By a lot. The betting odds imply she has a better than 90 per cent chance of winning gold in the women's 400-metre individual medley -- a gruelling event where swimmers complete eight laps using four different strokes: the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.
McIntosh holds the world record in the 400 IM and is the de facto two-time reigning world champion. She won back-to-back titles in 2022 and '23 before skipping this year's worlds -- along with most of the planet's top swimmers -- because they happened too close to the Olympics. McIntosh also went back-to-back in the 200m butterfly, making her the first Canadian swimmer to capture four world titles.
WATCH | CBC's Meg Roberts looks ahead to Day 3 of the Paris Olympics:
At the 2023 worlds, McIntosh won the 400 IM by more than four seconds over 18-year-old American Katie Grimes, who was also the runner-up in 2022. Other challengers include worlds bronze medallists Emma Weyant of the U.S. and Jenna Forrester of Australia. Reigning Olympic champion Yui Ohashi of Japan did not qualify.
The women's 400 IM heats start at 5 a.m. ET, and the final is at 2:30 p.m. ET.
One other Canadian swimmer made Monday's finals. Mary-Sophie Harvey will compete in the women's 200m freestyle at 3:41 p.m. ET after placing eighth overall in today's semifinals. Titmus is favoured to repeat as Olympic champion. McIntosh took bronze in the 200 free at last year's worlds, but she dropped it from her Olympic slate to focus on her other four solo events.
Other top Canadians to watch Monday
Judo: Christa Deguchi goes for gold
The 28-year-old Olympic rookie won her second world title last year and added a silver at this year's world championships. She's ranked No. 1 in the world and is favoured to win gold in the women's 57-kilogram division.
The one-day tournament begins at 4 a.m. ET. Deguchi has a bye to the round of 16 and will be in the 13th match of the day on mat 1. The medal rounds begin at 10 a.m. ET, so Deguchi could have a chance to win Canada's first gold of the Games.
For the most part, this is a single-elimination bracket. Except, the four judokas who lose in the quarterfinals move into a repechage draw where they have an opportunity to win one of the two bronze medals that will be awarded.
Gymnastics: Canada in the men's team final at 11:30 a.m. ET
The resurgent Canadian squad grabbed the eighth and final spot in qualifying on Saturday. Félix Dolci and René Cournoyer also advanced to the individual all-around final, which takes place Wednesday.
Canada's women's gymnastics team qualified for their final by placing fifth on Sunday. Four-time Olympian Ellie Black led the way with an eighth-place finish to qualify for the individual all-around final. She also advanced to the vault final with a seventh-place finish as she tries to become the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics. Shallon Olsen will join Black in the vault final after placing sixth.
American star Simone Biles overcame an apparent calf injury to top the women's all-around leaderboard and lead the U.S. to first place in team qualifying.
Women's basketball: Canada vs. France at 11:15 a.m. ET
The fifth-ranked Canadians have four active WNBA players: Kia Nurse (Los Angeles Sparks), Bridget Carleton (Minnesota Lynx), Laeticia Amihere (Atlanta Dream) and rookie Aaliyah Edwards (Washington Mystics). But it's kind of a miracle that they made it to the Olympics.
At their last-chance qualifier in Hungary in February, all Canada needed was to not finish last in the four-team round-robin tournament. But they went 1-2, giving Hungary a chance to end its 44-year Olympic drought with a win over Spain in the tournament finale. The hosts blew a 22-point lead and lost 73-72, handing Canada its fourth consecutive Olympic berth.
Along with seventh-ranked France, Canada will face No. 3 Australia on Thursday and No. 12 Nigeria on Aug. 4. The top two teams from each group and the two best third-place teams qualify for the knockout stage.
Some other things to know
Divers Nathan Zsombor-Murray and Rylan Wiens go for the podium in the 10m synchronized final. The duo took bronze at the 2022 world championships, becoming the first Canadians to reach the podium in this event. They finished fifth at this year's worlds. The final is Monday at 5 a.m. ET.
Canada's women's rugby sevens team will try to keep its medal hopes alive. After defeating Fiji and losing to top-ranked New Zealand on Sunday, Canada closes out the group stage Monday at 10 a.m. ET against China. The quarterfinals begin at 3 p.m. ET. The semifinals and medal matches are on Tuesday.
Both of Canada's rowing boats are on the water Monday. After placing third in their opening-round heat Sunday, the lightweight women's double sculls duo of Jenny Casson and Jill Moffatt compete in the repechages at 5 a.m. ET. They need to finish in the top three of their group to advance to Wednesday's semifinals. The reigning Olympic champion women's eight crew's first-round heat is at 6 a.m. ET. If they don't win it, it's off to the repechage on Thursday.
Canada's top beach volleyball duo hits the sand. Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, ranked third in the world, play their women's group-stage opener Monday at 9 a.m. ET. Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec will try to bounce back from their opening loss at 5 a.m. ET.
Three of Canada's four singles tennis players reached the second round. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez won their opening-round matches Sunday on the Roland Garros clay, while Milos Raonic was eliminated. Andreescu and Fernandez are scheduled to play again Monday while Auger-Aliassime teams up with Raonic in men's doubles. Fourteen-time French Open men's champion Rafael Nadal of Spain also advanced to set up a showdown with Serbian rival Novak Djokovic on Monday. Here's the full tennis schedule.
