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Olympian Sisters Open Up on Being the Pride of the Nation

Published 03/01/2023, 11:19 AM EST

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The Canadian sports community boasts of the iconic Olympian sisters, Brooke and Summer. They specialize in their particular sports categories of figure skating and swimming respectively. The teenage champions are conquering their domains with finesse. Brooke grabbed an Olympic experience at the 2020 Youth Games finishing fourth while Summer went on to be the youngest member of Team Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Games. She also holds a 2x individual World Champion title. 

Apart from the long list of achievements, the McIntosh sisters confide in each other during tough times, per Olympics. The duo opened up about their journey to finding their passion with utmost transparency of their likes and dislikes in each other’s sport. Let’s find out what the champions had to say. 

The McIntosh sisters are each other’s greatest support

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In a recent article by the official site of the Olympics, the story of the remarkable sisters was unveiled as they sat side-by-side sharing insights from their unique journey together. “We are in different sports, so not everything is the same…but there are definitely still similarities that come with it, too,” Summer said. The 18-year-old skater emphasized the understanding the sisters have created among them. 

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“If we ever do want to talk about something or have a rough training day, we can understand where each other are coming from. That’s always nice to have that kind of a support system that truly understands what it is like to be a high-performance athlete,” Brooke added. They revealed that they retort to the mall for a quick distraction from their athletic stress. Additionally, the 16-year-old’s massive success, was a motivation for her elder sister’s career as well. 

Evidently, the athletes are grateful for the beautiful bond they share, sticking with each other through ups and downs. However, both believe in the power of hard, and smart work. Hence, Brooke implied, “There’s nothing that can replace hard work. No amount of talent, anything…That’s how you truly improve.” Although, what really introduced them to their specific fields?

How the McIntosh sisters found their passion

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As the source revealed, the two were encouraged by their parents to try out an array of sports until they found their best fit. Both tried each other’s sports as well. “I wasn’t a huge fan of the swimming, it just never clicked,” the elder sister explained. She was too scared to compete. On the other side, Summer never aligned with figure skating. In a similar event, Olympian G.O.A.T, Michael Phelps was introduced to his forte with the help of his eldest sister. 

“In swimming, you don’t have to make anything look pretty,” she said. Furthermore, she remarked that it is beyond her understanding as to how figure skaters manage to look pretty along with performing with “knives” on their feet. Notably, their mother, Jill Horstead was also a 1984 Olympian swimmer. Hence, deriving their inspiration from her, the 200m butterfly ace disclosed, “I think from a very young age we understood what a big deal it is to make an Olympic team since our mom did it in 1984.” 

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WATCH THIS STORYIconic Gymnast Simone Biles and Legendary Michael Phelps astonishing Car Collection.

Summer is eyeing the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics while Brooke intends to grab a spot at the Milano Cortina 2026 and the Winter Olympics next year. The McIntosh sisters stand as inspirational figures for the youth. And the girls, are just getting started.

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Written by:

Tiyasa Biswas

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Tiyasa is a US Sports author for Essentially Sports. She charts her journey in the sporting world right from her childhood. A basketball player all through her high school and college days, Tiyasa looks up to Michael Jordan as her idol, and reveres the Mamba Mindset.
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Edited by:

Anupama Ghosh