2025 World Championships Previews: McIntosh’s 2:05.70 Makes Her The Undisputed 200 IM Favorite

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• SwimSwam Preview Index

Women’s 200 IM — By The Numbers

• World Record: 2:05.70 — Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.56 — Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
• Championship Record: 2:06.12 — Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2015)
• 2023 World Champion: 2:07.17 — Kate Douglass, USA
• 2024 Olympic Champion: 2:06.56 — Summer McIntosh, CAN

Race Of The Century, Round Two? Not This Year.

Over the last two championship seasons, the women’s 200 IM was billed as a must-see showdown, with top contenders Summer McIntosh, Kaylee McKeown, Kate Douglass, and Alex Walsh all within 0.3 of each other. Things went awry in 2023 when McIntosh dropped the event due to a scheduling conflict and McKeown was disqualified in the semifinals. As a result, the race ended up being just a battle between Douglass and Walsh.

At the Paris Olympics, fans finally got the showdown they desired, and the race certainly didn’t finish without drama. Lead changes and a disqualification all unfolded in just over two minutes, with McIntosh (2:06.56) emerging victorious when all was said and done. Douglass claimed silver with the only other sub-2:07 time in the race (2:06.92), just off her best time from Trials. Walsh originally touched for bronze in 2:07-flat—a slight personal best—but was subsequently disqualified for an illegal backstroke-to-breaststroke turn. Video replay clearly showed Walsh had rotated onto her stomach before touching the wall on the backstroke-to-breaststroke turn, which is illegal. With Walsh’s disqualification, McKeown was upgraded from fourth to bronze medal status, though she appeared fatigued after her high-pressure backstroke events earlier in the meet, logging 2:08.08 compared to her 2:06.63 personal best from just weeks prior.

This time around, all four contenders are back in Singapore, but only two are actually swimming this race. Douglass scratched the event at Trials and hasn’t competed in the long course meters version since the Paris Olympic final, though she did break the short course meters world record in the event last December. McKeown has publicly stated that she will likely not pursue IM races at high-level international meets moving forward—a decision that came after the 50 backstroke, an event in which she holds the world record, was added to the Olympic program.

McIntosh: The Undisputed Favorite

There’s no hiding from it. Once you go 2:05.70, you’re the favorite. That’s a fairly clear-cut assessment. Swimming at Canadian World Trials last month, McIntosh slashed 0.42 seconds off the previous world standard of 2:06.12, set by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu back in 2015. The swim marked the first sub-2:06 performance in history. She also set new world records in the 400 free and 400 IM at the same meet. In the process, McIntosh obliterated her 2:06.56 personal best from Paris by almost a full second. Despite being known for her butterfly and freestyle prowess, her backstroke over the past two years has become her most lethal leg in IM races.

In her world-record-setting 200 IM, she ripped a mind-boggling 30.80 backstroke split. This time is in the same ballpark as what the top-25 world 100 backstrokers finish their races in. The only other swimmer to ever split under 31 seconds is American Regan Smith, who owns the 100 backstroke world record and ranks as the second-fastest performer all-time in the 200 backstroke. Even the aforementioned McKeown, who owns the 200 backstroke world record and went 2:06.63 in this 200 IM, typically splits in the 31-high to 32-low range. This really puts McIntosh’s backstroke leg into perspective. This performance got fans speculating about what she could achieve in a 200 backstroke, fully tapered. We didn’t get to see it this year, but she hasn’t ruled out concentrating more on that race in the coming years.

Splits Comparison:

If there’s any concern at all for the Canadian superstar in this race, it’s the close proximity to the 400 free final on night one. She’ll tackle this double for the first time, with the 400 free final preceding the 200 IM semifinals. Given her strong endurance and status as the world record holder in both races, paired with about 30 minutes between races, we see her safely advancing to the final without a problem.

She has never swum this 200 IM at a World Championships before due to that conflict with the 400 free. She’s tackling it this year and has instead opted not to compete in the 200 free this time around.

McIntosh has consistently dropped best times in the 200m races at every international meet she’s attended since 2021. With a four-year track record of producing her season bests at the big taper meet, it’s hard to bet against the 18-year-old. She is already the fastest swimmer in the event’s history and the reigning Olympic champion.

Walsh, A Consistent Podium Factor

Walsh, the 2020(1) Olympic silver medalist (and 2023 Worlds silver medalist), has been a consistent podium presence. She has it in her t0 go sub-2:07, but she could also very well finish off the podium if China’s 2:07 swimmer Yu Yiting and ever-improving Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey elevate, and Walsh is in the 2:07-high to 2:08-low range. Walsh has “only” been 2:08.45 so far this year, over a second shy of her official career best of 2:07.13, but a half second drop should garner her a podium position.

At the start of the Paris Olympic cycle, she dominated the 200 IM, winning at 2022 World Championships by 1.44 seconds. However, after those Worlds, American Douglass, along with McIntosh and McKeown overtook her in terms of times, all breaking 2:07. In addition, her best time remains the same since 2022—after 2022 Worlds, she hasn’t been officially faster than 2:07.45 (taking out the DQ from Paris).

We stated in the 2023 preview that Walsh’s biggest weakness is her finishing speed. She was run down by Yu Ohashi in Tokyo and by Douglass in Fukuoka, and McIntosh in Paris last summer after leading at the 150 (before the DQ). She struggles to get under 30.5 on her freestyle leg (compared to McKeown, McIntosh, and Douglass, who have all posted 29-point splits in the past), and getting under that barrier will likely be the biggest factor in garnering a new PB.

If Walsh were to win this race, she’ll will have to be leading by a significant margin at the 150-meter mark, probably about two seconds over McIntosh.

Walsh’s biggest advantage is that the 200 IM will be her first of two events, and has a condensed schedule and is just focusing on this race and the 200 breast. She can focus all of her energy on this race, unlike McIntosh who will have to deal with the fatigue of racing the double and potentially, though unlikely, the 4×100 free relay before this final rolls around.

Top Candidates For A Medal

Yu Yiting (Photo Credit: Fabio Cetti)

Outside of McIntosh and Walsh, there is a fairly deep group of swimmers fighting to grab hardware. The leader of this pack is none other than Team China’s Yu Yiting, who notched a season-best 2:08.67 from the Chinese Nationals in May.

Yu finished 5th at the Tokyo Olympics, setting a World Junior Record time of 2:09.57. This record has since been broken by both Leah Hayes and McIntosh. Yu has improved since then, dropping her best time to 2:07.75 at the 2023 Asian Games.

In 2023, Yu took advantage of McKeown and McIntosh’s absences and earned herself a bronze at Worlds (2:08.74). She then got bronze again at 2024 Worlds (2:09.01). She went on to touch 4th in the Paris final last July in 2:08.49, just 0.41 behind McKeown.

It will be easier for Yu to break into podium position this year with two of the sub-2:07 suspects not around. She’s also just 19 years old and has one of the greatest upsides in the field. A big drop from her personal best could see her finish with silver or bronze.

Yu is known for going out really fast. She opened her 2023 Worlds race with a 26.90 fly leg, for example. Watch for her to be a pacemaker for the rest of the field, alongside McIntosh.

Mary-Sophie Harvey (Photo Credit: Daniel Harrison)

Mary-Sophie Harvey, Canadian teammate of McIntosh, has had a blockbuster year since the Paris Games, where she touched 4th in the 200 free. Harvey will have a busy schedule as she is entered in the 200 free (#6), 200 breast (#10), and 200 IM (#5). Additionally, similar to McIntosh, Harvey plays into all of Canada’s relays, as she won the 100 fly and 200 free at the Canadian World Trials.

Thankfully for Harvey, this race comes first in her busy schedule. She’s coming off logging 2:08.78 for silver at the Canadian Trials behind McIntosh, a personal best by almost a full second. If she’s able to drop another best time, she could find herself in a good race with Yu, and potentially even Walsh, for a medal.

Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko and Team Great Britain’s Abbie Wood both own personal bests in the 2:08 range. Gorbenko’s stems from May of last year while Wood produced hers in April at the British Olympic Trials. Both have finaled in this race at the Olympics before. Wood, a two-time Olympic finalist in this race, is known for her underwater skills and rocked a personal best 2:08.85 to win the British Trials. Gorbenko, the 2024 world silver medalist in the 400 IM, has been 2:09.85 so far this year. Any time in the 2:09 sector should see them into the final, and anywhere in the ballpark of their bests should place them into the top tier, if replicated.

Wood’s British teammate Katie Shannahan (2:09.88) is seeded 11th and on the bubble of making the final. She scratched the 100 back, which conflicted with this race, signaling she has high hopes of posting a time to challenge for a top-eight position.

Seeded right ahead of Shannahan is Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk, who has been as quick as 2:09.73 in her career. She obliterated her own Belgian national record in the 200 IM to open up the 2025 French Elite Championships last month. At 20 years old, she dropped nearly 3.5 seconds from April to dip under 2:10 for the first time.

Vanotterdijk, who was last year’s European Champion in the 100 fly, first broke the 200 IM national record at the Malmsten Open in Stockholm two months prior, where she registered 2:13.22. Prior to her breakthrough, the record had belonged to Fanny Lecluyse, who went 2:13.68 in 2011

We would be remiss not to mention Chinese 12-year-old phenom Yu Zidi. She will swim this race, where she owns a career best of 2:10.63, along with the 200 fly and 400 IM. Of the three races, this one is by far the toughest for her to make a final. There are 12 swimmers seeded under 2:10, and she is situated 16th on the entry sheet. This seeds her to barely scrape into the semifinals.

It wouldn’t shock any of us to see a 12-year-old chop off time and land a lane in the final. She could even challenge for a medal. However, this will be her first event of the meet and her first time competing at this level at such a young age. We feel that if she has some big drops, they might come later in the meet.

Phoebe Bacon (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

American backstroke ace Phoebe Bacon failed to qualify in her bread-and-butter 200 back at the U.S. Trials. She landed 4th at 2:06.79, nearly two seconds shy of her lifetime standard. She bounced back in a big way in this 200 IM. She dropped her best from 2:12.18 to 2:11.68 in prelims before knocking off over two more seconds to nab 2nd in 2:09.22.

If Bacon can continue the time drops in this event, then she’ll not only be a final contender, but also a potential medalist. She always either nearly matches or slightly drops from her Trials times to the big international meet of the year. However, given her rapid drop from 2:11.68, it’s a question of whether she continues the time-drop momentum or struggles to replicate the 2:09 after such a huge drop.

Australia’s Ella Ramsay (2:09.21) and Tara Kinder (2:10.42) could both find themselves in the final. Ramsay qualified for the final in Paris last summer. She logged her best time at the Australian Trials last month and has hovered in the 2:09-low range for the last year. She seems primed to break through into the 2:08 sector. Kinder will need a best time to feature in the championship heat.

Japan’s Mio Narita could also final with her 2:09.68 April best. However, the 19-year-old has struggled to replicate her Trials times at the big international meets. The 400 IM specialist has added multiple seconds to her bests in all of her races over the past two years. This gives us slight pause in projecting her as a finalist.

Dark Horse: Rebecca Meder (South Africa) — Back in April, 22-year-old Rebecca Meder touched in a time of 2:10.39 at the South African Trials to defeat her competitors by over five seconds as she earned a new national record. Her result overtook her own previous South African standard of 2:11.39, which she posted at the 2023 edition of that meet. Post-race, Meder told Swimming South Africa, “I will say I’m very surprised with a 2:10.3. We thought at least 2:11-low, maybe sneak in a 2:10-high, but to break my own SA record and to go 2:10.3 is mind-blowing, so I’m really happy with that.” Given that she was quite shocked with the time and didn’t have a huge reason to do a full taper for her Trials due to being a level above the rest of her competitors nationwide, a sub-2:10 outing and potential final could be on the horizon.