Canadian Summer MacIntosh dominates, wins 4 gold medals at swimming world championships
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Montreal Gazette
4 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Jack Todd: Rising tennis ace Victoria Mboko serves notice in Montreal
Tennis For a couple of hours last week, it appeared that the passing of the torch in Canadian tennis might be delayed by a few more days. Midway through the third set against Belinda Bencic, Genie Bouchard appeared to be in cruise control. She had dominated the second set and appeared on her way to winning the match when her lack of match fitness kicked in and the elephant fell on her. The falling elephant is familiar to anybody (me) who was once a high jumper drafted to run a leg on a 4x100 relay during a high-altitude track meet at the University of Colorado. At the 300-metre mark, you're sailing along thinking what a brilliant runner you are — then the plummeting pachyderm strikes. When it happened to Bouchard, it looked as though the legs that had propelled her around the court like a top 20 player once again had turned into limp spaghetti. She tried to rally, but she had lost the momentum and Bencic triumphed. It was a noble effort. After years when she was too much in the public eye and swamped by Hollywood B-listers in her box at Wimbledon, after years of intermittent struggles, Bouchard had returned to prove to her hometown crowd that, at 31, she still has the talent and grit to soldier on for a few more years if she chooses. The massive crowd was touched. Bouchard managed to hold back the tears and it was over — but within less than 24 hours, Bouchard had ceded whatever rung she still occupied in Canadian tennis to Victoria Mboko, the humble and unassuming 18-year-old who may be the biggest talent Canada has yet produced. After dropping the first set Thursday, 6-1, Mboko dominated the 39th-ranked Czech Marie Bouzkova in the final two sets, 6-3 and 6-0 in front of a dazzled crowd. That seemed sufficient proof of Mboko's destiny — but on Saturday night, facing the 21-year-old American Coco Gauff, Mboko proved that Gauff's status as the world No. 2 did not faze her. After dominating the first set 6-1, Mboko made some mistakes in the second set and saw Gauff claw back, but held her nerve to defeat Gauff, 6-4 — proving that she's a quick learner. Mboko had won the first set against Gauff in Rome, only to let Gauff come back and win the match. Not this time. How far can Mboko go? After seeing the early promise of Bouchard, Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez result in something less than world domination, we need to manage the expectations for Mboko. It looks like this young woman raised in Toronto could reach the moon and beat the stars, but her immediate task is to avoid a letdown in the quarterfinal Monday against 51st-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain. A race too far: Summer McIntosh and Mboko, the two young stars who have dominated this season, were born eight days apart in August 2006. Both will turn 19 this month. Both are astonishing talents, McIntosh especially. When McIntosh went head-to-head against Katie Ledecky of the U.S. in the 800-metre freestyle final at the World Aquatics Championships, I thought she would win a race Ledecky has not lost since she was 13 years old. It wasn't to be. The canny Ledecky led almost from start to finish to foil McIntosh in her attempt to win five gold medals. I feared the loss might deflate McIntosh in her fifth individual event, the 400-metre individual medley, but she won by such a wide margin you could only see her pursuers in a wide-angle shot. That made it four golds and one bronze for the worlds, and it made it official: McIntosh is the greatest swimmer Canada has produced and she's not yet 19 years old. The fans called and they want their Cody Fajardo back: Sometimes, a bad game is like a purge. You get rid of it all in one wretched evening and you feel much better when it's over. Fans have to hope that Saturday night's rancid performance was like that for the badly banged-up Alouettes. They have no end of excuses, beginning with the fact that they're missing their starting quarterback and their two top receivers. That doesn't change the fact that McLeod Bethel-Thompson, the 37-year-old backup quarterback, was simply awful. He completed 15 of 26 passes for a miserable 126 yards, threw a bad interception and would have thrown another had it not been dropped. The highest paid backup in the CFL, with a salary of $185,000 in 'hard money' plus bonuses, Bethel-Thompson hasn't been remotely worth it. Ironic, given that Fajardo was too expensive to keep in a backup role to Davis Alexander. Fajardo was swapped to Edmonton for Bethel-Thompson and the two will go at it Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. The Elks are awful, but they do have a secret weapon unless the Als make a change at QB: Bethel-Thompson. Heroes: Victoria Mboko, Genie Bouchard, Leylah Fernandez, Mary-Sophie Harvey, Audrey Leduc, Miyu Yamashita, Katie Ledecky &&&& last but not least, Summer McIntosh. Now and forever.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Toronto FC gets US$100,000 in general allocation money from Los Angeles FC
Los Angeles FC has signed Scottish defender Ryan Porteous from England's Watford with Toronto FC earning US$100,000 in 2025 general allocation money in the transaction. LAFC sent the allocation money to TFC because the Canadian club held Porteous' Major League Soccer discovery priority rights. MLS rules allow each club to have up to five players not yet under contract to MLS teams on their discovery list. Such players can be removed or added to their list at any time. The 26-year-old Porteous signed with LAFC through 2028 with an option for the 2029 season. The Scottish international spent the last five months on loan to Preston North End of England's second-tier Championship. 'We're excited to welcome Ryan to LAFC. He brings competitiveness, leadership qualities, and the type of mentality we value at this club,' LAFC co-president and GM John Thorrington said in a statement. 'His experience at both the international and club level, along with his defensive intensity and ability to play out of the back, will be a great addition to our group as we push toward our goals this season.' Porteous joined Watford in January 2023. Prior to that he played for Scotland's Hibernian. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2025.
Vancouver Sun
6 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
'Greatest swimmer of all time': Toronto swimmers cheer on Summer McIntosh after medal haul
With four world championship gold medals and a single bronze draped around her neck, Summer McIntosh is doing more than just winning on an international level — she is inspiring young swimmers in her hometown as well. On Sunday, McIntosh marked the end of her journey at the World Aquatics championships in Singapore with her fourth gold medal, winning the women's 400-metre individual medley in about four minutes and 25 seconds. As McIntosh topped the podium, fellow young swimmers at Lakeshore Swim Club in Etobicoke, Ont., a Toronto neighbourhood west of downtown, cheered on. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Club president Tara Smith said they reminisced about McIntosh swimming for the club in her early years. 'A number of her records still stand in our record books and so our swimmers see it every day when they go into practice,' said Smith. Sunday's win marked McIntosh's fifth overall medal at the championships, joining her gold in the 200 butterfly, 200 medley and 400 freestyle and bronze in the 800 freestyle. Her lasting impact on the Etobicoke swim club is seen at its training facility at the Gus Ryder Pool and Health Club. A plaque for the club's grassroots development program, of which McIntosh was a part, greets visitors. 'We're really proud of her,' said Smith. 'I know she has really big expectations of herself, but she does a fantastic job representing our country and representing herself.' McIntosh now has 13 career medals at the world championships — the most of any Canadian — including eight gold. After last year's Olympics, Smith said the overall interest in the club's pre-competitive program increased — something she attributes to McIntosh. She said McIntosh creates a lot of excitement in the sport and inspires the kids at the swim club. On social media, McIntosh supports her old club by interacting with swimmers' posts. 'It's very exciting for the kids to see that, whether it's just comments or a heart,' Smith said. Swimmers from Toronto Swim Club delayed their Saturday morning workouts and gathered around a screen at the University of Toronto to watch McIntosh's 800-metre freestyle showdown with American Katie Ledecky. Though McIntosh came up third in a tight race behind Ledecky and Australia's Lani Pallister, swimmers were just as excited to watch her compete and take home another medal, said the club's national head coach Bill O'Toole. 'It's just so inspiring to see a Canadian take on the world like that,' said O'Toole. 'In my opinion, she will be the greatest swimmer of all time.' O'Toole said many in his club have cheered on McIntosh. Some know her personally, he said, and want to see her achieve success. 'Everyone's just really excited and inspired by watching her swim,' said O'Toole. He added some of the younger athletes will tap into their newfound motivation as they compete at the Canada Games and World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships this month. 'The sky's the limit and that a Canadian is as good as anybody else in the world,' he said. 'It's not just about winning; it's about breaking barriers.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2025. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
