SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which world record Summer McIntosh had the best chance of breaking at the Short Course World Championships:
Question: Which world record does Summer McIntosh have the best shot at in Budapest?
RESULTS
- 400 IM (4:18.94) – 72.7%
- 400 free (3:51.30) – 14.9%
- 200 fly (1:59.61) – 12.4%
It didn’t take long for Summer McIntosh to make our latest SwimSwam poll look a little silly.
We asked readers which world record she would have the best shot of breaking, the 400 IM, 400 free, or 200 fly?
All three records looked rather daunting, with the 200 fly record having stood since 2014 and the 400 IM mark since 2017, both established by Spaniard Mireia Belmonte.
The 400 free record was set more recently, with Li Bingjie dropping a time of 3:51.30 in October 2022, with McIntosh breaking the World Junior Record the very next day in 3:52.87.
Although there was a realistic chance McIntosh could nab all three records, given that the 200 fly and 400 IM records had stood for so long, and the Canadian falling shy of her long course best time in the 400 free this summer, it didn’t seem too likely.
Now, it does.
McIntosh crushed the world record in the 400 free (3:50.25) on the opening day of racing, and then followed up on Day 3 by cracking the decade-old 200 fly record in 1:59.32.
In the poll, 72.7% of readers believed the 400 IM record was the most likely for her to break, and for good reason, as it’s the only one of the three where she owns the mark in long course. The 400 free picked up 14.9% of votes, and then the 200 fly trailed with 12.4%.
Now that she’s taken ownership of the 400 free and 200 fly records, the 400 IM is next, scheduled for Saturday in Budapest.
Belmonte’s longstanding record of 4:18.94 is directly in McIntosh’s crosshairs, and it feel like a forgone conclusion that she’ll break it given what we’ve seen this week.
McIntosh last raced the 400 IM in short course meters at the Toronto leg of the World Cup in October 2022—the same meet she broke the WJR in the 400 free—clocking 4:21.49 to rank #3 all-time in the event.
Along with Belmonte, Katinka Hosszu has also broken 4:20 in the event, clocking 4:19.46 at the 2015 European SC Championships.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which country sweeping an event (men and women) at Short Course Worlds was the biggest surprise?
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
Go Summer go! What a way to close out Fall before Winter officially starts 🏊🏼♀️🍁🥇