Summer rolls on as Ledecky scales new heights

PARIS : Summer McIntosh showed the Paris Olympic pool the thrill of the new with a second gold medal for Canada on Thursday, but it was golden oldie Katie Ledecky standing alone at the end of day six as the most decorated female swimmer of all time.

McIntosh swept in like a summer storm to make off with the 200 metres butterfly title at La Defense Arena before Ledecky took a record 13th Olympic medal, helping the United States take silver behind Australia in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay.

Ledecky's achievement was another boost for the U.S. team following Kate Douglass's gold in the 200m breaststroke.

Hungary savoured their first champion of the meet when the Bob Bowman-coached Hubert Kos took gold in the men's 200m backstroke.

The men's swimming has been all about French poster boy Leon Marchand, but 17-year-old McIntosh may end up remembered as the face of the women's meet.

Having blown away the field for the 400 metres individual medley gold on day three, her second gold was more of a battle in the event her Olympian mum Jill Horstead swam for Canada.

She had to reel in the eventual bronze medallist and Chinese defending champion Zhang Yufei, then fended off America's Regan Smith who took the silver, to win by 0.81 seconds with a time of 2:03.03.

She also became the first Canadian woman to win three individual medals in swimming at an Olympics, and another may be coming in the 200m individual medley.

"It's pretty cool tonight winning the 200 fly just because that was by far her main event," McIntosh said of her mum.

"So sharing that moment with her is pretty cool."

In McIntosh, Ledecky might see something of herself in the teenage tearaway shaking up the swimming world.

The 27-year-old American showed she is far from a