Penton: McIntosh, Mboko both steal the show
By Bruce Penton
It was Summer’s summer of domination until Vicky came along with victory after victory to steal the show.
Overall, Canadian female athletes shone on centre stage at two important athletic championships as the summer reached its halfway point..
Summer McIntosh, of course, is arguably the best swimmer in the world, even though she finished third in the 800-metre freestyle behind Katie Ledecky of the United States at the world aquatic championships in Singapore. Despite that one-off defeat in the 800, Ledecky’s specialty in which she has been virtually unbeatable for the past five years or so, Toronto’s McIntosh was the star of the championships. The 18-year-old wunderkind won four gold medals —the 400-metre freestyle, the 200-metre butterfly, the 200-metre medley and the 400-metre individual medley. Her five medals boosts her total to 13 at the world championships, including eight golds.
But while Canadians were ready to concede the national female athlete of the year award to McIntosh, along came a virtually unknown tennis player from Toronto who stunned Canadian sports fans by winning the National Bank Open in Montreal. Televised matches played by Victoria (Vicky) Mboko, whose family moved to Canada from the Congo via North Carolina in the late 1990s to avoid political unrest, became must-see TV as she slowly moved through the draw and won the title by beating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in three sets.
Mboko defied the odds by winning the semi-final against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, a former singles champ at Wimbledon, after being down 5-3 in the third set. She battled back and eventually won the match in a tie-breaker.
It has been a remarkable run for Mboto, who was ranked 333rd in the world at the start of 2025 and is now in the top 25. Sloane Stephens, the U.S. Open champion in 2017, sees an extremely bright future for Mboko: “I think she can be a grand slam champion. I think she could probably be No. 1 in the world,” said Stephens.
Canada has a great history of producing world-class female players. Eugenie Bouchard, Bianca Andreescu,and Leylah Annie Fernandez have all had their moments. Andreescu reached the highest summit by winning the U.S.Open singles title in 2019, beating Serena Williams. Bouchard’s career highlight was reaching the women’s final at Wimbledon in 2014.
Will Mboko surpass those outstanding feats and become Canada’s best-ever player? It’s difficult to say, but the determination and skill she showed in winning the Montreal event would point in that direction.
McIntosh, meanwhile, will be aiming for a quartet of golds at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Mboko will likely be part of the Canadian Olympic tennis contingent and a plethora of medals and headlines await the duo.
As for Canadian athlete of the year voting at the end of 2025, the two female stars and NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Hamilton will be the top contenders. Male voting bias will likely anoint Gilgeous-Alexander as the winner, but why not three co-winners?
Former MLB pitcher Tug McGraw: “Ninety per cent of my salary I’ll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other 10 per cent I’ll probably waste.”
Comedian Tommy Cooper, on the hazards of sports gambling: “Gambling has brought our family together. We had to move to a smaller house.”
Headline at fark.com: “Las Vegas A’s stadium marked up to $2 billion. Owner seen sweating at craps table.”
Comedy guy Torben Rolfsen of Vancouver: “Toronto (Blue Jays) acquired Seranthony Dominguez from the Orioles. When was he knighted, and why?
Rolfsen again: “The President of the United States is pressuring the Washington Commanders to change their name back to the Redskins. Why don’t they just meet in the middle and call them the Washington Orangeskins.”
Headline at fark.com: “Ranking all 32 NFL home uniforms from worst to best. It’s not just the politics that are ugly in Washington.” (No. 1 was Los Angeles Chargers.)
One more from Rolfsen: “Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was fined $500 for criticizing WNBA referees on TikTok. There goes her August salary.”
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Now that ESPN has acquired the NFL’s popular RedZone Channel, are we now going to get Stephen A. Smith popping onto our screens every time a touchdown is scored just so he can scream, ‘THIS DEFENCE IS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE!’”
Headline at The Beaverton.com: “Nation’s mothers hail 18-year-old tennis champion Vicky Mboko as new unattainable standard for you to live up to.”
Another one from fark.com: "Anthony Richardson could return to the Colts as early as Saturday, much to the dismay of Colts’ fans.”
fark.com to finish up: “Remember when the NFL commissioner said ’We will strongly oppose legalized sports gambling.’ Well, they now own 10 per cent of ESPN’s sports book and will directly profit from gambling.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca