SwimSwam sat down with 15-year-old 2x world champion Summer McIntosh ahead of her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham next week. McIntosh (pronounced Mac-In-Tosh, as told by Summer) described her mentality at the 2022 World Championships and analyzed her historic performances in the 400 free (4th woman to break 4:00, silver medal) and the 400 IM (world champion at 15 years old). Part of the young Canadian’s success is her eagerness to race the best, being energized by performing for the crowds on the biggest stages and getting to step on the blocks next to names like Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus.
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Gosh I see so many down votes. Do people really have a grudge against this teen..?
What I want to know is, does anyone call her SuMac? Seems like it should be an obvious nickname.
We just call her “Smackie”
Congratulations, SwimSwam on scoring the first big interview with Summer!
I thought I couldn’t admire her more, but now I see a long way in front of me :-))) What an intelligent, authentic, thoughtful, humble young athlete and person she is! God, please, save her from any injuries!
Well said! very poised for a 15 year old. Wish her well – and no injuries!
Idk how y’all kept messing up her name. (Was someone rewatching “Veep” and just assumed it had that emphasis on the IN like Mike McLintock?)
Excellent interview. Will be interesting to see her duel with Titmus in the 400 free. Might be one of the better head-to-head matchups we see on the women’s side at these Commonwealth Games.
If I were McIntosh, I would DNS the Comms 400 Free. Titmus’ approach of — I’ll just swim when I want to, only the Olympics long term are important– is alienating. Suspect that’s why Oleksiak and Ruck and others went home, even if unstated. And unsurprisingly, McIntosh swam more serious metres just at Worlds than Titmus has swum all year.
What? Alienating?
Bizarre choice of word.
So Oleksiak, Ruck and Titmus all skip a major meet this year but Titmus alone is ‘alienating’ (whatever tf that’s supposed to mean) for doing it. You really have no idea why Oleksiak and Ruck are skipping Comm Games.
also schoenmaker, who skipped worlds and prioritised comm games like titmus. and who are these other people they speak of? Pickrem and Litchfield? which would mean their “personal reasons” are really “I am offended by someone, who I don’t even race against, skipping the meet, so I am going to skip in protest”? bizarre comment
If I were McIntosh I would do exactly what she is doing. At almost 16 there is no real wrong event lineup answer with her fast potential in so many. Pick this one or that one. Pick one too many or one too few. This is her time to experiment and gain experience and confidence at the international level. Great choices because they are hers!
Also let’s be reminded of the late changing and crowded meet schedule this summer after a grueling and taxing 2-3 yrs to just get to the Olympics. Many international swimmers picking one of worlds or Com Games, one of worlds or Euros, one of worlds or Dual in the Pool. So Penny and Taylor are… Read more »
200 IM: an excellent choice for calibrating herself in big competition, and maybe already getting closer to 2.06.12, like that while playing seriously…
Great to see her excitement about swimming. Speaking of which, just a little interesting stat detail heading into Commonwealth Games–McIntosh already has twice the number of individual event World Championship LCM victories (2) than Ariarne Titmus (1) and Emma McKeon (0) combined.
But how many individual Commonwealth Games victories does Summer have?
Excellent interview. She’s an intelligent young woman.