2025 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS
- Saturday, June 7 – Thursday, June 12, 2025
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Victoria Saanich Commonwealth Place
- LCM (50 meters)
- World Championship Selection Criteria
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Prelims Live Recaps: Day 1
- Finals Live Recaps: Day 1
Women’s 400 Freestyle – Finals
World Record: 3:55.38 — Ariarne Titmus, Australia (2023)Canadian Record: 3:56.08 – Summer McIntosh (2023)- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 4:10.23
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 4:16.52
Summer McIntosh kicked of the Canadian Swimming Trials with a bang as she demolished Ariarne Titmus‘ World Record of 3:55.38 in the 400 freestyle. She swam 3:54.18 to also take nearly two seconds off her own Canadian Record in the event of 3:56.08, which was also a World record at the time she swam it.
Race starts 2:02:08 after the start of the stream
McIntosh took Olympic silver behind Titmus in Paris last summer, and the 400 freestyle is an event that she is yet to win an international gold medal in. Despite Katie Ledecky returning to 3:56 form at last month’s Pro Swim Series stop in Fort Lauderdale, McIntosh suddenly becomes the overwhelming favourite to win in Singapore this summer.
What was most striking about this swim was the way that McIntosh split the race. When she set the previous record she was out like a bullet, splitting 1:55.91 before coming home in 2:00.17. This time around she was out half a second slower but came home in a phenomenal 1:57.76. That was more than half a second faster than on Titmus’ previous record, one where she blew the field away in the last 100.
| McIntosh 2025 – 3:54.18 | Titmus 2023 – 3:55.38 | McIntosh 2023- 3:56.08 | |
| 100 | 56.95 | 56.92 | 56.46 |
| 200 | 1:56.42 (59.47) | 1:56.94 (1:00.02) | 1:55.91 (59.45) |
| 300 | 2:55.65 (59.23) | 2:56.90 (59.96) | 2:55.84 (59.93) |
| 400 | 3:54.18 (58.53) | 3:55.38 (58.48) | 3:56.08 (1:00.24) |
Speaking after the race, McIntosh said:
“Going into tonight, I knew my training had been really good these past few months and I knew I could do something special,” she said. “Being able to put that training into the race, I mean, I didn’t think it would translate to a 54.1, but I’m really happy with that overall.”
“To be honest, I just didn’t really feel a lot of pain in that race. I felt so strong throughout and that’s never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me. That last 100, I’m usually really, really hurting. But I flipped at the 200 and I was just cruising. I knew I was having a strong swim and I could tell by the crowd and the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record, so I really tried to push that last part for them.”
The Canadian Phenom has recently been training in France with CN d’Antibes under coach Fred Vergnoux in preparation for the 2025 World Championships.
SwimSwam originally reported that McIntosh attended a three-week altitude training camp in the Pyrenees Mountains with CN d’Antibes, however in April the club shared on social media that McIntosh was still preparing for the 2025 Worlds with the program. She returned to Canada recently in preparation for the Canadian Swimming Trials, and will be moving to join Bob Bowman’s Pro group at Texas after the conclusion of the World Championships in August.
Tonight marked the second World Record that McIntosh has set in the 400 freestyle this season, after she did so at the Short Course World Championships in Budapest in December. She broke Li Bingjie‘s record there by over a second in 3:50.25, and also set new World marks in the 200 fly and 400 IM, taking her tally for the season now to four, and given that she has broken the 400 IM World record at Canadian Trials in each of the past two years may not be done yet.
Just to add some context, only 3 men in my country have ever gone under this time.
What a talent! Shame for Canada there is not a homegrown coach who can guide her training through 2028. (Unless she prefers training elsewhere?)
Her first coach in Toronto passed away, and her second coach in Toronto moved to Spain.
Starting to see this sentiment /sour grapes popping up all over various social media.
I wish you and all the others who share this frustration and bitterness good luck dealing with those emotions in the lead up to LA28.
The US is still a swimming powerhouse, may you find peace and comfort in that knowledge…
I’m just amazed that these swimmers can give an interview straight outa the pool after a swim like that.
Mind boggling fitness
a lot of you are worried about trans athletes, some females like Summer and Walsh are built like a shark and work harder than any men, as a result swim faster than 90% of men, the gap is closing. Not to mention Ledecky.
(downvote if you agree 🙂 )
What is the relevance of this
Key point of this comment is “90%”
Exactly. Although a phenomenal time, she’s still far from the Oltmpic B qualifying times for the men’s event.
Honestly, who cares? Women and men race separately to showcase each. More men, in my personal observation, are worried about outdoing women than women are of being outdone.
I was actually just thinking this the other day, without even thinking that the WR would be broken soon: that this record is so damn tried and true it’s unreal. It’s been attempted by truly some of the greatest the sport has seen, at their peaks, so to think it was just smashed by this much tonight is unbelievable. Summer McIntosh is a living legend, and has more to come no doubt
Preach 🙌
I’m confused. The record is only 2 years old. Not 20.
It seems like consensus opinion here is the Summer will break Ledecky’s 800free WR tonight? I wanted to be sure.
She dropped 4 seconds from training meets in the 400free. She needs to drop a bit more than 5.5 in the 800free to go 8:03
800’s a different animal. She’s definitely capable, but going out and doing it is a different story. My guess would be she comes close but just misses.
4:00.0 – 4:03.6
you were right!
She also didn’t pace her last pro swim 400 free optimally since it looked like she was experimenting with just going for it even more than usual. I’ll predict a 8:04.62 to scare the WR.
Not yet imo. i think 8:05-8:07 maybe.
I tend to agree with your prediction. The one variable that may work in Summer’s favour however is the adrenaline high she will most likely still be on after last nights WR swim.
Katie’s 8:04 is something else.
I think she is most likely to break her 400IM WR. But I would never put a ceiling on Summer’s potential to break any record. She’ll achieve less than her previous 8:09 in the 800free for sure. A WR wouldn’t surprise me either.♡
i’m torn between this and her short course 400 IM as her best WR
Oh, honey, it’s the LC 400 free. Remember peak Ledecky was 3:56.4. Federica Pelligrini, who in context went 1:52 in the 200, went 3:59. The winning time in Beijing 2008 was 4:03, while at that meet the winning time in the, say, 200 back was 2:04- and no one has yet broken 2:03.
I’m gonna say the 3:54 is possibly the best world record on the books now, period
I agree but like 4:24.3 is otherworldly, 2 seconds faster than katinka when her world record was already so dominant
I am really hoping this convinces her to pursue the 800FR whole-heartedly. I could legit see her breaking 8:00 if she continues to pursue it (and actually train specifically for it for the first time in 5 years) through LA 2028.
the math does not add up
How not?
800FR Feb 2024: 8:11.39
400FR May 2024: 3:59.06
= .486 Ratio
800FR Feb 2025: 8:09.86
400FR May 2025: 3:58.28
= .486 Ratio
800FR June 2025: ???
400FR June 2025: 3:54.18
Extracting the inverse, the math indicates an 8:01.44. Even considering several other examples (some from the same peak tapered months such as Tokyo 2021), everything tells us an equivalent performance for her would be somewhere around 8:02.
Now, factor in that she’s 18, with 3 more years of development to 2028. The math, indeed, adds up.