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 | Day 2
- Finals Live Recaps: Day 1
WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINALS
- World Record: 8:04.12 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2025)
Canadian Record: 8:09.96 – Summer McIntosh(2025)- World Aquatics ‘A’ Standard: 8:34.62
- Canadian World Juniors Standard: 8:48.68
RESULTS:
- Summer McIntosh – 8:05.07 (CANADIAN RECORD)
- Ella Cosgrove – 8:35.72
- Mabel Zavaros – 8:39.67
- Emma Finlin – 8:42.86
- Tori Meklensek – 8:53.02
- Naomi Mynott – 8:55.20
- Julia Strojnowska – 8:58.62
- Laila Oravsky – 8:59.54
Summer McIntosh is on fire at the Canadian Trials in Victoria. After breaking the World Record in the women’s 400 free last night with a 3:54.18, McIntosh competed in the 800 free tonight, where she shattered her own Canadian Record.
McIntosh swam an 8:05.07, which took nearly 5 seconds off her own Canadian Record mark of 8:09.96, which she swam in February of this year. On top of the Canadian Record, McIntosh’s race tonight marks the 3rd-fastest performance ever, behind only Katie Ledecky‘s 8:04.12 World Record, which was set in early May, and Ledecky’s 8:04.79, which was swum in 2016 and stood as the World Record in the event for almost 9 years.
McIntosh put together a great race, holding up better on the back half than she previously has. She was 4:01.17 at the 400m turn, which was actually faster than Ledecky’s WR split (4:01.78). McIntosh then managed to come home in 4:03.90 tonight, which was, of course, slower than Ledecky’s back half split, but was still a marked improvement over her previous 800s. For example, when McIntosh swam her 8:09.96 back in February, she was out in 4:02.15 at the 400 and came home in 4:07.81 on the back half. That means she was nearly a second faster on the front half of the race tonight, but the vast majority of her improvement came in the back half of the race.
| Summer McIntosh – 2025 Canadian Trials (Canadian Record) | Summer McIntosh – 2025 Southern Zone Sectionals (previous Canadian Record) | Katie Ledecky – 2025 Pro Swim Series (WR) | |
| 100 | 57.79 | 57.76 | 57.57 |
| 200 | 1:58.32 (1:00.53) | 1:58.86 (1:01.10) | 1:58.38 (1:00.81) |
| 300 | 2:59.56 (1:01.24) | 3:00.16 (1:01.30) | 3:00.08 (1:01.70) |
| 400 | 4:01.17 (1:01.61) | 4:02.15 (1:01.99) | 4:01.78 (1:01.70) |
| 500 | 5:02.50 (1:01.33) | 5:04.37 (1:02.32) | 5:02.99 (1:01.21) |
| 600 | 6:04.26 (1:01.76) | 6:06.07 (1:01.70) | 6:04.27 (1:01.28) |
| 700 | 7:05.47 (1:01.31) | 7:08.70 (1:02.63) | 7:05.37 (1:01.10) |
| 800 | 8:05.07 (59.60) | 8:09.86 (1:01.16) | 8:04.12 (58.75) |
Of course, now we’ll be waiting eagerly to find out if McIntosh will opt to race the 800 free at the World Championships in Singapore this summer, which she hasn’t done historically. We don’t know whether or not she’ll keep this event for her schedule, however, we swim fans can selfishly hope she does, because it would present a situation we haven’t seen before. McIntosh is the first and only swimmer to rise to Ledecky’s level in the 800 free so far, and getting to see these two superstars go head-to-head would be spectacular.
It looks like going under 3min after first 300m in 800m race is not the optimal race plan from the physiological point of view. When both Ledecky and McIntosh tried to do so they ended up at 8:05 loosing one second (or even more) to world record. After first 300 McIntosh was systematically losing at each next 100m to Ledecky’s world record pace. Same thing was observed at Ledecky’s race at recent trials when it was obvious that she swam not only for the National title but it was an attempt to go under 8:05. Certainly the dataset is too small to make definitive statistical conclusion but when we see the same pattern for swimmers where one isn’t 19 years… Read more »
All of a sudden the women’s 8fr has become the most exciting event in the program.
Just like that!! Thank you Summer for deciding to race it. For once, Katie won’t be bored
I’ve always been told that performance in one season is based on training the year prior. I think what we’re seeing is that Summer trained incredibly well leading up to Paris and is now swimming relaxed and happy. I.e., less her current coach than her current environment and previous work.
upvote: she swims this event in Singapore
downvote: she does not
i need to see her 200 first. but i’m like 90% sure its between the freestyle events
I think what’s so impressive about this swim (and Summer kind of alluded to it in her post race interview) is that she’s not familiar with splitting this race in the way that she did and still went 8:05. Her top 3 times before this swim last night were 8:09, 8:11 and 8:20.
Ledecky in the other hand swam this race meet after meet for years before hitting 8:04 in Rio, which makes me think Summer still has a lot of unrealized potential in this event if she really wants to focus on it in the future
It’s a little phony of McIntosh to claim (as she did post-race) that she is inexperienced in the event or is just learning how to swim it. She swam it for first time in May 2016 as a 9yo, and has swum it at least an additional 22 times since then (including a 4th place swim in Tokyo Olympics as a 14yo).
She came 11th but I still somewhat agree with you
In the last 4-5 years how many times has she swum it at a meet? About 4 times? I don’t think that makes her experienced in the event. She obviously trained for it for the Tokyo Olympics, but outside of that it seems to be an event that she doesn’t train for and swims every once in a while. She has even said that she doesn’t like it very much. It will be interesting to see if she starts to train it more and we see her swim it more often.
I agree 100%. I hope she races it more, she’s so talented and her free style is wonderful to watch.
Serious question: are you Summer’s PR agent? You only comment about Summer, and it’s like 80% to fight people.
I just want to make sure I contextualize your comments appropriately in my mind.
I highly doubt SM needs a PR agent on these threads.
Serious answer: Just a longtime swim fan, since Alex Baumann won 2/4 IMs in LA ’84, and very proud of our nation’s generational talent. I feel compelled to speak up in support because there seems to be a fair bit of hate/shade for no apparent reason.
She has raced 800 free once a year, early in the year, at a small meet, to gauge where her training is at, as she has said. 2016 and 9 yrs old is a long, long time ago. There is nothing phony about Summer, very rude to accuse of her that.
Factually, McIntosh swam the 800 Free three times in LCM in 2017. She swam the 800 Free seven times in LCM in 2019, 3 times in SCM. She swam the 800 Free 4 times in 2021 in LCM, once in SCM. 23 times total in LCM and 11 times in SCM beginning at age 9 (November 2015). So, yeah, probably off base to profess inexperience in the LCM event and at the 800m distance when going after it since age 9.
I do not believe Summer is trying to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes in stating that she is still trying to learn how to swim the 800. She has mentioned many times that she is always trying to master the intricacies of some of her less swum events such as the 2IM and 800 Free in which she has rarely swum internationally over the last three years.
Elite athletes in any sport never stop trying to learn on how to improve their craft even if they have years of experience which has led to past or present success. The learning curve never stops.
Has she raced it at Worlds for many years or in Paris?
Summer’s relationship with the 800free was like Bolt’s relationship with the 400m in his prime. He ran it as a junior and used it as a training tool. If he chose to concentrate on it, he would’ve been the first 42
with Summer mcintosh’s form on the upward stream Singapore could be something special.
Can summer please rethink her decision of leaving Fred
transplanting Mireilla belmonte’s shape into Summer’s body is a scary thought.
Yes, especially when M. Belmonte developed shoulder bursitis and had to have stem cell-platelet rich plasma treatments.
https://swimswam.com/frederic-vergnoux-coach-of-spains-mireia-belmonte-talks-injury-upcoming-meets-in-exclusive-interview/
Interesting observation that KL, and SM’s first 200, and last 200 are: 3:58.23, 3:59.23…Exactly 1 second apart, that was the difference here. Also of note is that these times on their own have only been swum by 2 women in KL;s case, and 3 in the case of SM. Legends these two are.