For Summer McIntosh, a record swim and fourth gold cap superb world championships
McIntosh entered the meet in Singapore hoping to equal Michael Phelps' record of five individual golds, which he achieved in 2007. She came up just a few seconds short, fading down the stretch of an incredible women's 800-meter freestyle race on Saturday and taking bronze there.
Otherwise, she was flawless in winning the 200-meter butterfly, 400-meter freestyle, and the 200- and 400-meter IMs. The four golds still put her in elite company. Aside from Phelps, only Americans Caeleb Dressel (2019), Katie Ledecky (2015) and Ryan Lochte (2011) have ever won that many individual medals at a world championships.
Australia's Jenna Forrester and Japan's Mio Narita tied for silver behind McIntosh, both finishing in 4:33.26, more than seven seconds behind.
McIntosh's aggressive week started last Sunday, when she outdueled Ledecky and China's Li Bingjie to win gold in the 400 freestyle. A day later, she won the 200 IM, then the 200 butterfly on Thursday.
That set up Saturday's showdown with Ledecky in the 800 freestyle. In a race Ledecky has dominated for over a decade, McIntosh took the lead heading into the 700-meter turn, but she couldn't keep up with the American star over the last 100 and ended up finishing third behind Ledecky and Australian Lani Pallister.
She had no such issues Sunday in one of her signature events. She won the last two 400 IM world championships in which she competed, in 2022 and 2023, and took Olympic gold in the event last summer. She won three individual golds in Paris, also in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM.
Less than three years before the 2028 Olympics, McIntosh will be the biggest name to watch heading into Los Angeles. She'll be 21 when those Games begin.
McIntosh's swim was one of the highlights of the final day of competition of the swimming program at these World Aquatics Championships. In other action Sunday, French star Léon Marchand won the 400-meter IM for his second gold medal of the week, and American Lilly King, who has said she's retiring after this meet, had her final competitive swim.
In the meet's final race, the U.S. women's 4×100-meter medley relay team set a world record to clinch the total gold-medal count.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics
2025 The Athletic Media Company
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
AFL fans call out Demons over Simon Goodwin's farewell snub as club great in shock
Melbourne Demons great Garry Lyon has been left shocked at the timing of Simon Goodwin's axing with three games left to go in the season with suggestions the veteran is unlikely to coach a farewell game. On Tuesday morning it emerged the Melbourne Demons had sacked Goodwin following a convincing 83-point win over West Coast. There were suggestions Goodwin would be let go if Melbourne lost to West Coast on the weekend. The demolition of the lowly Eagles seemed to quell the noise momentarily with a decision to be made at the end of the season. Although the win didn't save Goodwin from the axe with the timing of the move leaving supporters in shock. Goodwin coached Melbourne to their first premiership in 57 years years back in 2021 having taken over from Paul Roos. But Goodwin had only managed to coach the Demons to seven wins in 2025 and performances across the last few years had prompted calls for change. And Lyon admitted he was struggling to get his head around the decision to pull the trigger with three games left to go. Speaking on SEN Radio as the news dropped, Lyon suggested there might not be a farewell game for Goodwin who deserved a send off having delivered the side their only premiership in recent times. 'I'm stunned, shocked, totally shocked,' Lyon said on SEN Radio. 'I had no heads up on this whatsoever. Absolutely just shocked, I can't get my head around it. He won't be coaching a farewell game, that's something I can promise you.' And fans have echoed Lyon's confusion to why the decision happened now. Many feel the Demons had left the decision so late it was only right to let Goodwin see out the season and have a farewell. With little to play for, the fans could have got behind the coach with three games left if they let him ride out the season. Unfortunately, it appears Goodwin and Melbourne will go their separate ways immediately with the supporters most likely not given an opportunity to get behind their premiership-winning coach one last time. I think a parting of ways at the end of the season would have been more respectful to our only premiership coach in nearly 70 years but a change was you Simon Goodwin for helping turn our club around and the memory of 2021 ❤️💙@melbournefc #AFL — Julian Cross (@CrossJulian) August 4, 2025 Shocked by the decision to sack Goodwin right now. Hope he is remembered as a legend of the footy club. What the Demons do next is very interesting…Do they see this as an opportunity to challenge again with a fresh voice? Or is it a total wipe out of star players? — Matt Nevett (@matt_nevett_) August 4, 2025 Can't but feel like we could've waited until the end of the year & given our only living premiership coach a bit of a send off. 100% the right call but jeez this man delivered something that I never thought we'd ever see. Thanks Goody that day in 2021 will be forever the greatest — James Plunkett (@jplunkett21) August 4, 2025 Lyon felt the call came prematurely with Goodwin's stature as a premiership winner going to see him reach the end of the season. 'I'm absolutely stunned. I thought there would be a long review at the end of this year and then determine whether he would coach out his final year,' he added. 'Premiership coaches are pretty rare at the Melbourne footy club. He's one of four. He will be a hero of this football club forever and a day, but that obviously doesn't guarantee your tenure. This is a massive call.' Melbourne making moves with Simon Goodwin axing After Melbourne capitulated in round 20, Goodwin shut down outside noise and said he was fully committed to the job at hand. "I feel incredibly supported by the board, I have for nine years," Goodwin said last Thursday. "We've been able to go through these challenges before with clarity and strength and stability to create success." Goodwin won the 2021 flag with one of the youngest teams of the modern era and started their 2022 title defence in solid form. However, Goodwin couldn't get past the early stages of the finals since the flag having exited in straight sets in 2022 and 2023. Last year, Melbourne finished in 14th and they currently sit in 12th and are out of finals contention. The Demons hierarchy may have called time on Goodwin's season with three games to go in a bid to get ahead of their rivals in the search for a new head coach. There are suggestions a number of teams could be looking at change for the 2026 season and the Demons have made their move first. Only last week, AFL great Matthew Lloyd claimed he didn't think a win against the Eagles would ease the pressure on Goodwin's tenure as coach. "I don't think so, no," Lloyd said when asked on Nine's Today Show. "Moreso if they lost that game, that could spell the end for Simon Goodwin you would think, if they were to lose to West Coast who have won one game for the season. They have been off for a couple of years now, there is something not quite right."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rybakina advances to WTA Canadian Open semis
Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA Canadian Open on Monday when Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk retired in the second set with a wrist injury. World number 12 Rybakina led 6-1, 2-1 when Kostyuk stopped the match, sending the Kazakhstan star into a semi-final against the winner of a later match between Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Canadian teen Victoria Mboko. The top five seeds and seven of the top 10 seeds were ousted before the quarter-finals at Montreal, opening the door for such upstarts as 18-year-old Mboko, who eliminated top seed Coco Gauff. Rybakina, seeded ninth, seeks her third WTA title after Rome and Indian Wells in 2023. She has not reached a final since last year at Miami. Rybakina broke 24th-seeded Kostyuk to open the match and led 2-1 when Kostyuk received medical treatment on her right wrist and forearm. Kostyuk netted a backhand to surrender another break in the fifth game and Rybakina broke again to claim the first set in 37 minutes when Kostyuk sent a forehand long. In the second set, Rybakina held twice before Kostyuk retired after 54 minutes due to her wrist issues. js/jgc
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rybakina reaches semifinals in Montreal after injured Kostyuk stops in second set
MONTREAL (AP) — Elena Rybakina advanced to the National Bank Open semifinals after Marta Kostyuk was forced to retire with an apparent arm injury Monday with Rybakina leading 6-1, 2-1. Rybakina, the No. 9 seed from Kazakhstan, converted three of her 10 break-point chances in the quarterfinal matchup at IGA Stadium. The players shook hands at the 54-minute mark before the 24th-seeded Kostyuk exited the court in tears. After the third game, the Ukrainian's trainers wrapped her forearm in medical tape. Rybakina will face the winner of Monday night's matchup between Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain. Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff in straight sets Saturday, winning the lopsided match in just 62 minutes. The 18-year-old from Toronto has surged from outside the top 300 to No. 85 in the WTA rankings in a breakthrough year. The tournament final is Thursday. The event's top-five seeds were eliminated before the quarterfinals. ___ AP tennis:
