McIntosh arrives home, would return to Paris to be flag bearer at closing ceremony

TORONTO — After landing back in Toronto, Summer McIntosh says she would return to Paris if selected as Canada's flag bearer for the closing ceremony.

The Toronto teenager who won four medals at the Paris Games returned home for some relaxation but says it would be "an honour" to carry the flag for Canada.

At the very least, McIntosh can relieve herself of her heavy medal haul.

Having stashed her three golds and one silver medal in her carry-on luggage, the champion swimmer says airport security had some questions about the hardware.

"They were like, 'What are these round metal things?'" she says, adding that she explained to security personnel she is a four-time Olympic medalist.

"They're like, 'OK, you're good.'"

McIntosh was joined at the airport by her mother, Jill, father, Greg, and older sister Brooke. An Air Canada spokesperson says her mother and sister travelled with her on the flight.

While she had been home less than a month ago to see friends, family and her cats, it was in Paris that her whole family was able to reunite.

"When we hugged after her first medal, it was the first time we had hugged in 10 weeks as the four of us," says Greg.

When asked about the 2028 games in Los Angeles, McIntosh says she still has more she wants to accomplish in the sport but, for now, wants to "soak up" family time.

McIntosh will turn 18 on August 18, and says that having returned home, she wants to take a break from swimming and plans to relax at her cottage with friends before likely coming back to Toronto to do some shopping.

But she is not ruling out a quick turnaround to Paris.

With the closing ceremonies just five days away, McIntosh says it would be "such an honour to hold the flag for Canada."

While the teen notes that nothing related to Canada's flag-bearer selection "has come out yet," she says she would return if tapped for the job.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 6, 2024.