Good things come in threes
It is hard to believe that only 19 months ago Summer McIntosh was the youngest Team Canada athlete competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where, as a 14-year-old, she came fourth in the 400m freestyle.
Fast forward and she was crowned dual world champion at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, winning both the 200 metres butterfly and 400 metres individual medley, and claiming silver in the 400 metres freestyle in a new Canadian record time. She rounded out the medal haul with a bronze in the 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay, where she just happened to break the world junior record as the lead-off swimmer.
It was then onto the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she won 6 medals, the most of any Canadian athletes at the Games, with gold in both the 200 metres and 400 metres individual medley.
Coming home from abroad, Summer rounded out 2022 with a bang with an incredible showdown with Katie Ledecky at the World Cup in Toronto, where Summer won by 0.08 seconds in the 400 metres freestyle to set a world junior record.
Training with the Sarasota Sharks in Florida, Summer took up racing the US calendar and over winter raced short course yards at the Winter Junior Championships. At that meet she beat Ledecky’s time at the same age by over a second, and became the fastest 16 & under swimmer ever in the 500 freestyle.
Now in 2023, Summer has shown she is only getting started with the record books. Racing at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale from March 1-4, Summer broke 3 Junior World Records.
200m Freestyle – 1:54.13
Summer’s time broke her own PB set at the 2022 World Championships when she led off the Canadian relay team in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay. It also set a new US Open Record and Canadian Record. Her second 100 was swam in a 58.05.
200m Butterfly – 2:05.05
Summer’s time broke the World Junior Record, US Open record, Canadian record and Pro Swim Series record. There are not many swimmers that can claim a 2:04 in the 200m fly but is Summer on track when she swims at World Champ Trials at the end of March? It’s a pet favourite for Summer (who can say that about 200 fly?) because her Mum, Jill McIntosh (nee Horstead) swam the event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. 40 years later in Paris her daughter could follow in her footsteps.
200m Individual Medley – 2:08.08
Summer broke the World Junior Record, Pro Swim Series record and Canadian record to claim the 200m IM title. It is the fastest time in the world this year by over 2 seconds and shoots her up to 8th fastest of all time.
There are just 3 weeks until the Canadian World Swimming Championships Trials kick off in Toronto and Summer is back in training in Sarasota in the lead up, flying into her hometown just a few days before the meet kicks off. It’s incredible to watch the progression of this champion on her journey to Fukuoka for World Championships and ultimately Paris in 2024.