Add Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year to Summer McIntosh‘s long list of 2025 honors.
McIntosh was announced as the winner of the award, which is voted on annually by members of the Canadian press, on Friday, marking the third-consecutive year she’s earned the honor. In 2023, she became the first swimmer to be recognized since Penny Oleksiak in 2016.
After a remarkable year that included setting three world records in the 400 free (3:54.18), 200 IM (2:05.70), and 400 IM (4:23.65) at the Canadian Trials in the spring, and then winning four golds and a bronze at the World Championships, McIntosh received 64.1 percent of the votes cast (34 out of 53). She dominated the voting, with rugby star Sophie de Goede (8) and tennis player Victoria Mboko (5) the only others to earn five or more votes.
“Whenever I go into Trials, I’m always trying to chase world records, but going to Singapore, which was way longer of a meet, and you’re across the world and there’s a lot more external things that are completely out of your control, it was just trying to get my hand on the wall first in as many events possible,” McIntosh said, according to the Canadian Press.
McIntosh spoke about her goal of winning five golds in Singapore and how being vocal about it makes it feel more attainable.
“Any time I get in the water, and I do a race, I’m trying to win. I know that doesn’t even come close to happening every time, but especially when it comes to my best events at an Olympics or a world championships, my goal is always to get the gold for Canada,” she said. “Saying it out loud also makes me realize it more and also makes it feel more real for me.”
Even halfway around the world in Singapore, McIntosh said she and her Canadian teammates felt the overwhelming support from back home.
“Even all the way from Singapore, all of Swimming Canada, we all felt the love and support back home,” she said. “It keeps me motivated in the times where you might be tired or something, and you just have to keep pushing, moving forward, knowing that Canada is behind you and supporting you.”
McIntosh navigated several coaching changes throughout 2025. She parted ways with Brent Arckey and the Sarasota Sharks, where she had trained since late 2022, and spent the first half of the year training with Fred Vergnoux at CN d’Antibes in southern France. She remained with Vergnoux through the 2025 World Championships in Singapore before relocating to Texas in August to train under Bob Bowman.
The switch capped off what she called “a pretty crazy year.”
“It was a big learning experience for me, and it was probably one of the most challenging training periods of my life, along with going into Singapore,” she said. “I knew that it was definitely going to be even more challenging than the Olympic Games, with the hope to get five golds. I learned a lot. I swam a lot.”
At Texas, she’s training with a star-studded roster that includes Regan Smith, the second-fastest active 200 flyer behind herself, along with Paris Olympic medalists Leon Marchand, Hubert Kos, Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, and Chris Guiliano, among others.
“To have people this fast on the men’s and women’s side to push me every single day, there’s nothing like it really,” she said.
Before McIntosh’s three-peat, the 2022 award went to ice hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin, while Fernandez won in 2021 and soccer legend Christine Sinclair was the 2020 recipient.
Along with Oleksiak in 2016, Phyllis Dewar (1934), Irene Strong (1949), Marilyn Bell (1954, 1955), Mary Stewart (1961, 1962), Elaine Tanner (1966), Wendy Cook (1974), Nancy Garapick (1975) and Cindy Nicholas (1977) have also won the award as swimmers.
The men’s award, won by NBA player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this year, was last won by a swimmer in 1992, when Mark Tewksbury claimed it.
I’m shocked!
SHOCKED I’m telling you!
Did not realize she is Canadian.
Summer will have a considerably more difficult time winning this award in 2026. She’ll need some world records including taking down Ledecky’s 800 number. Otherwise there simply won’t be enough spotlight on her in a year without an Olympics or world championship.
Next month in Milano there will be numerous Canadian female gold medal threads, including skiers and skaters and a snowboarder, along with the high profile women’s hockey team plus the curling team skipped by Rachel Homan.
The latter is interesting. Homan bombed as gold medal favorite in PyeongChang 2018, missing the playoffs. Now in her mid 30s Homan has regrouped and will be favored again. Her team is the two-time defending world champion.
I’m impressed you know so much about Canadian women sports. Very true that it will be tougher for Summer to win this award in 2026 with the numerous Canadian female athletes competing in the Winter Olympics next month. Rachel Homan and her team have been so dominant the last few years that not coming away with the gold medal.
She’s a better athlete than SGA that’s for certain
cause he’s black?
Yo that’s a crazy leap.
Well deserved Summer 🍁🇨🇦