Summer McIntosh smiles after her win in the women's 200m freestyle at the Canadian Swim Trials in Toronto on April 2.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
After her five record-setting races in six days at the Canadian swimming trials, which ended Sunday night, teen sensation Summer McIntosh could finally step away from her strict training routine.
Even with friends and family all around, the 16-year-old Torontonian stuck to a disciplined regimen – race-rest-recover-repeat – all week in her hometown as she put on one of the most memorable performances in Canadian swim meet history.
McIntosh smashed two senior world records and rewrote the Canadian and world junior record books in all five of her events (world junior applies to swimmers aged 14-18). As the swimmer in the bright yellow swim cap and brilliant pink nail polish surged through the water, way ahead of the pack in every race, the noise inside Toronto’s Pan Am Sports Centre swelled each time the phenom neared the wall.
She capped off her week Sunday with her fifth world junior and Canadian record of the week – winning the 200-metre freestyle in 1 minute 53.91 seconds. The still-winded teen was asked what she was looking forward to, with the big week now in the books.
“Sleeping, probably,” McIntosh said with a laugh. “Just sleeping and chilling with my cats and my family.”
She had kicked off the trials with her first world record on Tuesday, becoming history’s fastest woman in the 400-metre freestyle, eclipsing a record held by Australia’s reigning Olympic champion, Ariarne Titmus.
Summer McIntosh eyes international superstardom as second Olympics draws near
On Thursday and Friday, McIntosh lowered her own world junior and Canadian records in the 100-metre butterfly and the 200-metre individual medley.
She collected the second world record on Saturday, in the 400-metre individual medley – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle – an event she won in 2022 at the world championships and Commonwealth Games. It was a record that had stood since 2016, set by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu at the Rio Olympics.
“Taking on five events within these six days is something that I haven’t really done before,” McIntosh said. “It’s something that I need to continue to work on if I want to be able to execute it on the high level at the world level as well.”
McIntosh first trained at the Etobicoke Swim Club, then with Canadian national team swimmers at Ontario’s high-performance centre. She relocated to Florida in the past year to train with the Sarasota Sharks, where she’s typically in the pool by 5 a.m., training much of the day, taking Grade 11 high-school courses online, and learning to drive a car.
She was planning to relish some relaxation time at home before travelling back on Tuesday night to start training again.
McIntosh said she was “very exhausted” Saturday night after the 400 IM, which is her most difficult event. Sunday’s 200-metre freestyle felt short by comparison, but required her to sprint – taxing the body in a different way.
“I try not to focus too much on the pain,” she said, still in her black racing suit. “That’s just what comes with sport and that’s kind of what makes sports fun at the same time – just learning to manage pain.”
After collecting her medals Sunday, the teenager looked up into the stands at the Toronto pool as a gaggle of kids – youngsters just a few years her junior – yelled down to her. McIntosh took off her medals and gave them to the fans.
“Medals mean a lot to me, and it’s kind of a moment of time that I can kind of reflect on, but I know how much it means to those kids,” she said. “I was once in that position, so I know exactly how it feels.”
Swimming Canada chose her as the female swimmer of 2022, after she piled up medals at the Commonwealth Games and FINA world championships. She will be the Canadian team’s headliner at the worlds in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.
She joins an elite group of women who hold more than one long-course individual world record. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom holds the most with four. American Katie Ledecky and Australian Kaylee McKeown hold two each, as does McIntosh.
She was asked if her global competitors might view her differently now that she’s a world-record holder. “I’ve actually never really thought about what my competitors perceive me as,” McIntosh said. “I really don’t focus on that at all.”
While she rarely had anyone pushing her in Toronto, the 16-year-old can test herself alongside the very best at the worlds, amping up the excitement for the 2024 Olympics.
“I’m really excited to do that again. Last year was a lot of fun competing on that world stage,” she said. “I’m excited to see where I grew from last year and trying to continue to gain momentum heading into Paris.”
Rachel Brady