Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh sets two world swimming records in three days
She had already achieved one world record at the trials in Victoria.
McIntosh won the 200-meter individual medley in 2 minutes, 5.7 seconds. The previous world record of 2:06.12, set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszú, had stood for 10 years.
After shaving a second off her previous best time on the backstroke leg, McIntosh was still a tenth of a second off Hosszú's previous record pace at the final turn. But McIntosh crushed the freestyle leg in 29.65 seconds, another personal best, to finish in world-record time.
'It's been one of those records that's always been in the back of my mind since trials two years ago,' the 18-year-old Toronto native said afterward. 'I've been knocking on the door on this one. I've just tried to chip away, chip away at it. To finally do it, it's kind of like 'Wow, I've finally got that done.''
Two days earlier, McIntosh had reclaimed the world record in the 400 freestyle. She first set the mark with 3:56.18 in 2023, but was bested the same year by Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus' 3:55.38. But on Saturday, McIntosh was back on top of the world after swimming a 3:54.18.
'That last 100, I'm usually really, really hurting. But I flipped at the 200, and I was just cruising,' McIntosh said. 'I knew I was having a strong swim and I could tell by the crowd and the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record, so I really tried to push that last part for them.'
In between those two historic swims, McIntosh also improved on her Canadian record in the 800 freestyle, with a time of 8:05.07. U.S. swimming star Katie Ledecky holds the world record in that event after finishing in 8:04.12 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last month.
McIntosh won four medals at the Paris Olympics last year — three golds (200 butterfly, 200 and 400 IM) and one silver (400 freestyle). She holds the world record in the 400 IM; she swam it in 4:24.38 at last year's Canadian swimming finals.
With three more days of competition, is there a chance she'll grab a fourth world record before the event is over? Maybe. The 400 IM is scheduled for Wednesday.
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