Canada's Summer McIntosh crushes 400m freestyle world record

Straits Times

4 hours ago

Gold medallist Summer McIntosh of Canada celebrating after winning the women's 200m individual medley at the Paris Games in 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS
– Summer McIntosh smashed the women's 400m freestyle world record in winning the title at the Canadian Swimming Trials in 3min 54.18sec on June 7, sending a signal for the upcoming world championships in Singapore.
McIntosh, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and former world record-holder in the event, sliced more than a second off the previous world record of 3:55.38 set by Australian Ariarne Titmus at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
'Going into tonight I knew that my training has been really good these past few months, and I knew that I could do something special. I mean, I didn't think my training would be 54.1, but I'm really happy with that overall,' the 18-year-old star said.
It was McIntosh's first race of the trials in Victoria, British Columbia, selection meet for the July 11-Aug 3 worlds in Singapore.
While she is entered in seven events, including the 800m free, 400m individual medley, 200m individual medley, 200m free, 200m butterfly and 200m backstroke, McIntosh has indicated she aims to compete in five events at worlds.
McIntosh won gold in the 200m butterfly 200m medley and 400m medley at the Paris Games, and she'll head to Singapore seeking to add to her tally of four world titles.
With Titmus taking a season off, she can expect her greatest challenge in the 400m free to come from Katie Ledecky but, after her latest showing, McIntosh appeared more than up for a clash with the United States great.
'To be honest, I didn't really feel a lot of pain in that. I just felt so strong throughout and that's never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me. The last 100, I'm always really, really hurting, but I flipped up the 200 and I was just cruising, so I knew that I was having a strong swim,' she said.
'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,' McIntosh added.
Ledecky was in fine form herself, closing out the US Swimming Championships with her third title of the week on June 7 with the gold in the 1,500m freestyle to book another event at the worlds.
The nine-time Olympic gold medallist clocked 15min 36.76sec to win the 1,500m free by more than 25 seconds. Claire Weinstein, who swam in a different heat of the timed finals, was second-fastest in 16:01.96.
'I just wanted to put together a pretty even swim, hold a good pace,' Ledecky told NBC Sports.
'That one hurt, but I'll take it, move on to Singapore,' added the US great, who also won the 400m and a 'really good' 800m free this week and finished second in the 200m free.
Ledecky heads to a seventh world championships aiming to add to her 21 world titles.
'I'm excited. I mean, I have been to a lot of these, but I still feel like I get the same excitement, the same energy from the team,' she said.
Bobby Finke and Gretchen Walsh also grabbed their third wins of the week in Indianapolis, Indiana, to set themselves up for multiple medal campaigns in Singapore.
Finke won the men's 800m free in 7:43.13, more than six seconds ahead of Rex Maurer.
Finke, who set the men's 1,500m free world record in defending his Olympic title in Paris, also won that event along with the 400m medley – although he has indicated he won't swim the medley in Singapore.
Walsh won the women's 50m freestyle in an American record-equalling 23.91sec to close out a stellar week that saw her win the 100m butterfly with the second-fastest time ever and the 50m fly in the fourth-fastest time ever.
Jack Alexy won the men's 50m free in 21.36, the top time in the world in 2025.
Santo Condorelli, the 30-year-old who has competed in the Olympics for both Canada and Italy, was second in 21.68 to earn a chance to represent the US for the first time in international competition.
Shaine Casas won the men's 200m individual medley in 1:55.73, just three-hundredths of a second in front of Carson Foster, Casas notching another victory after his triumph in the 100m butterfly.
Alex Walsh won the women's 100m medley in 2:08.45 with Phoebe Bacon taking second in 2:09.22.
Meanwhile, Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers said on June 8 he wants to keep going until the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, with new 50m events added to the programme a major incentive.
The 26-year-old previously suggested the Paris Olympics were his third and last, but he now plans to push on. It follows World Aquatics in April adding 50m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly to the agenda for the first time at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Chalmers is best known as a freestyler, but is also a formidable butterfly swimmer.
'The new 50s format will keep me swimming until Brisbane 2032,' he said on the eve of bidding to make his fifth world championship team at the Australian trials in Adelaide.
'I am in the very best position I've been in a very long time. My body is feeling good. And I've been swimming some really fast times. I can see myself swimming until Brisbane 2032.'
Previously, only freestyle was raced over the sport's shortest distance at the Olympics, despite all four strokes being on the world championship schedule.
Chalmers won 100m freestyle gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and silver at the next two Games.
Should he make the podium again in Los Angeles, he will be the first man to win 100m medals at four consecutive Olympics.
'LA is a massive target of mine,' admitted Chalmers, who has reaped nine Olympic and 12 world championship medals and has been revitalised by changing coaches this year.
He clocked 47.27 seconds over 100m in Norway in April – his fourth-fastest time ever – and followed it up with a personal best 21.78 in the 50 free. A week later, he set a new best of 22.89 in the 50m butterfly.
The Australian swimming trials run from June 9-14. AFP, REUTERS
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