2025 Swammy Awards: Canadian Female Swimmer of the Year – Summer McIntosh

It was another sensational year for Summer McIntosh, as the Canadian set multiple world records and won four world titles to earn the distinction of Canadian Female Swimmer of the Year for the third consecutive time.

McIntosh became an indisputable superstar in 2022, and she has continued to elevate her performance each year since, and 2025 was no different.

In January, the 18-year-old made the decision to part ways with coach Brent Arckey and the Sarasota Sharks, where she had trained since early 2022. She relocated to southern France to train under Fred Vergnoux in the lead-up to the World Championships.

The decision appeared to make an immediate impact on McIntosh, as in mid-February at the Southern Zone Sectionals, she clocked 8:09.86 in the 800 freestyle, joining Katie Ledecky as just the second woman in history under the 8:10 barrier while also lowering her own Commonwealth and Canadian Record of 8:11.39.

At the Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, she swept her signature events, winning the 200 fly in 2:04.00, the 200 IM in 2:07.42, and the 400 IM in a U.S. Open Record of 4:26.98. She continued her strong form in Fort Lauderdale, taking runner-up in the 400 free with a 3:58.28, her fastest time in that event since 2023, and also placing second in the 200 back (2:06.82).

All roads led to the Canadian Trials, where she simply had the greatest meet of her career to date.

Five Canadian Records, three World Records, the #2 swim all-time in the 200 fly and the #3 swim all-time in the 800 free and she did this without a single day off, swimming days 1-5. Mary-Sophie Harvey in the 200 IM was the only swimmer to finish less than seven seconds behind the 18-year-old at the meet.

Still 18 at the time, McIntosh got things started with the 400 free, clocking 3:54.18 to shatter Ariarne Titmus‘ world record of 3:55.38 and knock nearly two seconds off her own previous best time and former world record of 3:56.08, set in 2023.

Just one night later, McIntosh swam 8:05.07 in the 800 free, slicing nearly five seconds off her best time to pull within 95 one-hundredths of the newly minted world record set by Ledecky just one month earlier in Fort Lauderdale (8:04.12).

Over the next three days, she:

• obliterated Katinka Hosszu‘s decade-old world record in the 200 IM (2:05.70)
• swam the second-fastest swim ever and established a new textile world record in the 200 fly (2:02.26)
• and crushed her own world record in the 400 IM by over seven-tenths in 4:23.65.

McIntosh’s 2025 Canadian Trials Performances:

• Women’s 400 free, 3:54.18 – WR
• Women’s 800 free, 8:05.07 – CAN Record, #2 all-time performer, #3 swim all-time
• Women’s 200 IM, 2:05.70 – WR
• Women’s 200 fly, 2:02.26 – CAN Record, #2 all-time performer/swim all-time
• Women’s 400 IM, 4:23.65 – WR

The 2025 World Championships was far from her coming out party, but they were different. It was the first where she was clearly the world’s leading female swimmer, and the first time she was tackling five individual events.

While only one of her five individual races was a best time (the 200 fly, which almost took down the toughest World Record on the women’s side), she handled a huge schedule well, winning four golds and one bronze medal.

With her four golds, she became just the second woman to accomplish the feat, alongside Katie Ledecky, while McIntosh’s five individual medals also made her the second woman to do so at a single World Championships, joining Sarah Sjostrom.

In the highly anticipated showdown between McIntosh and Ledecky in the 800 free, it was Ledecky and Lani Pallister who claimed the top two medals in 8:05.62 and 8:05.98. McIntosh couldn’t match their finishing kick over the final 75 meters and settled for bronze in 8:07.29.

Honorable Mention:

• Mary-Sophie Harvey – 26-year-old Mary-Sophie Harvey has had an incredible twelve months in the water, which included winning her first individual LCM Worlds medal. In Singapore, she claimed bronze in the 200 IM as the only other Canadian woman to medal individually. She also finished 15th in the 200 free and 17th in the 200 breast. Her best performance of the season came at Trials in June, where she secured titles in the 200 free (1:56.60), 200 breast (2:23.40), and 100 fly (58.37), while also taking silver in both the 200 IM (2:08.78) and 400 IM (4:35.56). She set personal bests in the 200 breast, 200 IM, and 400 IM at that meet. Harvey finished 2025 ranked in the world’s top 12 across four different events and in the top 50 in two others: 7th in the 200 IM, 8th in the 200 breast, 10th in the 400 IM, 12th in the 400 free, 24th in the 200 free, and 44th in the 100 fly. You’d never guess that would have been the outcome after the season she went through. After the pool she usually trains in was closed for the year, Harvey had to piece together facilities to train at, driving multiple hours daily to make practices and ultimately training in four different pools and two different weightrooms on a weekly basis.

Past Winners:

• 2024: Summer McIntosh
• 2023: Summer McIntosh
• 2022: Maggie MacNeil
• 2021: Maggie MacNeil
• 2020: Sydney Pickrem
• 2019: Maggie MacNeil
• 2018: Taylor Ruck
• 2017: Kylie Masse
• 2016: Penny Oleksiak
• 2015: Emily Overholt
• 2014: Brittany Maclean