Summer McIntosh

Summer McIntosh is an Olympic swimmer, world record holder and world champion who broke over 50 Canadian age-group records by age 15.

International Career

2021 Olympic Trials

Even before Canada’s Olympic Trials in 2021, McIntosh registered a head-turning swim that would eventually qualify her for her first Olympics. The then 14-year-old McIntosh swam a 4:05.13 on May 27, 2021, which was a major PB and a new Canadian Age Group Record. In the absence of any FINA A cuts in the women’s 400 free final at the Trials on Day 1, Swimming Canada had the discretion to name McIntosh to the team based on her result from a few weeks ago, which they ultimately would after Summer qualified for the team outright.

On Day 2 of Trials, McIntosh swam the 200 free, beating her training partner and 100 free Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak to win in 1:56.19. The following day, McIntosh added to her event lineup with a win in the 800 free in another PB of 8:29.49. McIntosh, at 14, was the youngest person named to the Canadian Olympic team that year.

2020 Olympic Games

In Tokyo, McIntosh continued to improve. In the 400 free, she placed 4th in the final, clocking a 4:02.42 for a new Canadian national record. In the 200 free, she advanced out of prelims with a 1:56.11 (another PB), but placed 9th in the semi-final (1:56.82), just missing the final.

In the 4×200 free relay, she led off for Canada in another PB, 1:55.77, helping them to a 4th place finish in the final in a new Canadian record (7:43.77). In her last event, the 800 free, she placed 11th in the prelims (8:25.04) and did not advance to the final.

2021 Short Course World Championships

In Abu Dhabi, McIntosh earned her first major international medals. Individually, she won silver in the 400 free, touching at 3:57.87. She also swam prelims of the 800 free early in the meet, breaking the Canadian record at 8:13.37, but scratched the final to focus on the rest of her meet.

McIntosh helped Canada to gold and a new America’s record in the 4×200 free relay with a 1:54.30 lead-off leg as well as a silver in the 4×100 medley relay by swimming the freestyle leg in the prelims.

World Jr Records/2022 Canadian Trials

McIntosh once again had an eye-popping swim in 2022 before Canada’s major trials in April. At a trials prep meet in March, she became the #3 performer of all-time in the 400 IM, clocking a 4:29.12 and dipping under the world jr record to boot (however, it was not ratified by FINA so it will not officially count). But she didn’t stop there, when just the next day, she broke another Canadian and world jr record, this time the 200 fly at 2:05.81.

McIntosh followed this up with a massive Trials performance, winning the 400 free (4:01.59) on day 1, the 200 free (1:55.39) on day 3, the 200 fly (2:07.60) on day 4, and the 400 IM (4:34.86) on day 5.

First Major Suit Deal

On June 10, 2022, Summer announced she had signed with Funkita, marking her first major sponsorship deal at 15 years old.

2022 World Championships

In her first finals swim in Budapest, McIntosh made history. She became the youngest woman ever (and only 4th woman ever) to dip under the 4:00 mark, clocking 3:59.39 to take silver behind Katie Ledecky.

McIntosh’s next individual event was the 200 Fly, where she not only moved comfortably to the final but did so as the top seed, breaking her own world jr record in semis with a 2:05.79. In the final on day 5, she continued to drop, clocking a 2:05.20 to capture gold and her first world title. Later in that session, McIntosh led off Canada’s bronze medal 4×200 free relay in 1:54.79, another PB, jr world record, and time fast enough to win the women’s individual event.

On the last day of the meet, Summer competed in the 400 IM, where she battled fiercely with USA’s Katie Grimes. McIntosh ultimately came to the wall first, touching in 4:32.04 to earn her 2nd world title and world junior record of the week.

2023 Canadian Trials

One Day 1 of the 2023 Canadian World Trials after cruising a 4:08 400m free prelims swim, Summer McIntosh shocked the world by dropping a 3:56.08 world record, cutting over .3 off of Ariarne Titmus’ old mark of 3:56.40.

McIntosh, by consequence, also broke Titmus’ Commonwealth Record, her own Canadian Record, and Katie Ledecky’s World Junior Record.

Former Records:

• World Record – Ariarne Titmus, Australia, 3:56.40 (2022 Australian Championships)
• Commonwealth Record – Ariarne Titmus, Australia, 3:56.40 (2022 Australian Championships)
• Canadian National/Age Group Record – Summer McIntosh, 3:59.32 (2022 Commonwealth Games)
• World Junior Record – Katie Ledecky, USA, 3:58.37 (2014 Pan Pac Championships)
• Americas Record – Katie Ledecky, USA, 3:56.46 (2016 Summer Olympics)

SPLITS COMPARISON:

McIntosh was super-aggressive in the first half of the race. She was already seven-tenths up on the World Record pace at the 100, and by the halfway mark she was more than a second ahead of World Record pace.

She gave a lot of that back on the back-half of the race, but had more-than-enough room to still clear the record.

McIntosh’s first 200 meter split of 1:55.91 would have won a bronze medal at last year’s World Championships.

On the second last night of the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials, Summer McIntosh swam to victory in the 400 IM with a 4:25.87, setting a new world record. This swim got her under Katinka Hosszu‘s time of 4:26.36.

Prior to this swim, McIntosh held the world junior, Canadian, and Commonwealth records as well, which she has now reset once again.

Splits Comparison

2023 World Aquatics Championsips (Fukuoka, Japan)

McIntosh was one of the favorites as the World record holder coming into Worlds. McIntosh was 2nd in the 400 free final through the 300 but a sluggish last 100 of 1:01.59 saw her fade to 4th. She was 3:59.94, a distant 4.56 seconds back of Ariarne Titmus’s World Record of 3:55.38.

After a disappointing 400 free, McIntosh seemed to channel her energy into the 200 free. She was a relaxed 1:55.88 in prelims for 2nd and a better 1:54.91 in semis for 3rd. In the final, McIntosh swam a controlled race, with all her splits under 29 seconds; she was the only one in the field to do so. It was enough for a best time of 1:53.65, a new world junior record, and bronze. This is the fastest podium in the history of the 200 free with all three swimmers under 1:54 (Mollie O’Callaghan in 1:52.85 and Titmus in 1:53.01 for gold and silver) and a 4th swimmer, Siobhan Haughey off the podium despite a sub 1:54 swim.

She took on the 200 fly on the same day as the 200 free final. She was a solid 2:07.91 for 3rd in prelims. On the back of a tough double with the 200 free final, she was a solid 2:06.85 for 3rd in semis. Without the 200 free to tire her out in the 200 fly final, McIntosh flew out quickly in 58.97 at the 100. She was a little off her WJR pace through the 150 but came home in 32.59 to score the Gold and a new WJR of 2:04.06.

In the 400 IM, McIntosh eased through prelims with a 4:36.57. She was brilliant in the final, leading wire to wire and posting the fastest splits on fly, back, and the 2nd 50 of free. All this combined to a 4:27.11 to smash the championship record. 

On the relays, McIntosh was similarly spotty at the start, she was a meer 54.99 leading off Canada’s 400 free relay that was 7th. By the time the 800 free relay came around, McIntosh had found her rhythm and threw down a 1:53.97 split but the Canadian relay, weakened without some stalwarts, was 5th. McIntosh made up for her 100 free lead-off disaster with a solid 53.48 to anchor Canada to a bronze in the 400 medley.

2024 Canadian Olympic Trials (Toronto, Canada)

Unsurprisingly, McIntosh was dominant. She took things out fast, splitting a 1:56.00 at the 200 but touching in 3:59.06, then the fastest time in the world. The next night, she topped the 200 free with a super quick 1:53.69, just .04 seconds off her PB. Opening in 26.37. She flipped at the 100 in 55.43–a 28.70 split–then followed that with 29.38/28.88 on the back half of her race. Well after trials, it was revealed McIntosh would not contest the 200 free at the Olympics, paring down her busy schedule. 

In the 400 IM, just as with many of her races, it was not a question of if McIntosh would win but how fast she would go, and go fast, she did. McIntosh shaved more than a second off her own world record from last summer with her winning time of 4:24.38, igniting the crowd at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Center. She split 59.18 on the butterfly leg, 1:07.12 on the backstroke leg, 1:17.13 on the breaststroke leg, and 1:00.95 on the freestyle leg, showcasing the most improvement on her breaststroke.

“It was awesome,” said Mcintosh. “The crowd was absolutely electric. I heard you guys during the breaststroke and it really kept me going, so thank you…. 400 IM is an event where it’s all about strategy and pacing the front half,” McIntosh said. “I’m always trying to work that breaststroke because it is my weakest stroke. I’m just excited to be able to do it in Paris.”

Mcintosh crushed it in the 200 fly to nearly break her own Canadian and world junior records in the event. She was on her personal best pace for much of the race, splitting 27.43/31.16 on the opening 100. She split 32.65 on the third 50, then split 33.09 on the final 50 for a 2:04.33. 

McIntosh faced some challenge in the 200 IM, with Sydeny Pickrem actually leading her at the 150 mark thanks to her breast split. McIntosh stuck back and won by .62 second with a 2:07.06.