In an all-North American podium, Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant of Team USA finished silver-bronze behind Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old Canadian phenom and now first-time Olympic gold medalist.
McIntosh, the fastest woman ever in the event, was in a class all her own from the start of the eight-lap, four-stroke contest. She finished in 4:27.71, winning by 5.69 seconds over Grimes. It was the largest margin of victory in the event at the Olympics since 1984.
"I was very happy to get the job done, to stand on top of the podium and get the gold medal. It's always just about having fun, as well as pushing my body to its limits," said McIntosh, who also took silver in the 400m freestyle Saturday night. "I'm just trying to make Team Canada proud, and set the tone," she added.
Grimes, 18, earned her first Olympic medal after finishing fourth in the 800m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics as a 15-year-old, the youngest member of Team USA in any sport at those Games.
She secured a chance to make history later in Paris. No woman has ever won a medal in both pool swimming and open water swimming at the Olympics. Grimes will swim the women’s 10km open water event, scheduled for Aug. 8.
Weyant added bronze to the silver medal she won in the same event in Tokyo.
"I'm just so happy to be back on the podium. It's been a long three years for me. Just getting back out there with my teammates means the world to me. This is kind of a redemption year. That has been my mindset the whole year," Weyant said.