2022 WINTER JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – EAST
- December 7-10, 2022
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Start Times
- Prelims at 9 a.m. ET
- Finals at 5 p.m. ET
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Summer McIntosh continued to impress at the 2022 Winter Junior Championships – East when she won the 200 freestyle with a 1:40.63 meet record. That swim from the 16-year-old Canadian is quicker than the current 15-16 US national age group record of 1:42.03, which Katie Ledecky holds. That makes McIntosh faster than Ledecky was at the same age by over a second. Ledecky swam that 1:42.03 back in 2013 at Winter National Championships where she placed second to Missy Franklin‘s 1:41.40.
Splits Comparison
| Summer McIntosh – 2022 Winter Juniors | Katie Ledecky – Winter Nationals | |
| 50 | 23.74 | 24.50 |
| 100 | 48.99 (25.25) | 50.43 (25.93) |
| 150 | 1:15.08 (26.09) | 1:16.59 (26.16) |
| 200 | 1:40.63 (25.55) | 1:42.03 (25.44) |
McIntosh overtook Ledecky’s time from when she was 16 in the 500 freestyle earlier on in the meet when she swam a 4:27.52 to become the #2 female in the event all-time.
A 1:40.63 from McIntosh makes her the 7th-fastest performer in history and the swim is the 11th-fastest performance in history, surpassing Siobhan Haughey‘s 1:40.69 from 2018.
All-time 200 Freestyle SCY Rankings
- Missy Franklin – 1:39.10 (2015)
- Mallory Comerford – 1:39.80 (2018)
- Katie Ledecky – 1:40.36 (2017)
- Simone Manuel/Taylor Ruck – 1:40.37 (2017/2019)
- Allison Schmitt – 1:40.62 (2015)
- Summer McIntosh – 1:40.63 (2022)
- Siobhan Haughey – 1:40.69 (2018)
McIntosh won this event by more than four seconds, coming into the wall ahead of Erika Pelaez‘s 1:44.95 for second place and Lillie Nesty‘s 1:45.28 for third. This is McIntosh’s second individual event win of the meet after her 500 freestyle victory on Thursday. She swam the 200 freestyle after racing to second place in the 100 butterfly on Friday with a 51.10 to Alex Shackell‘s 51.00.
This is also McIntosh’s second meet record of the meet, having broken Regan Smith‘s 1:43.27 from back in 2018. She was a little bit slower than the pool record in the event, however, which Missy Franklin holds at a 1:39.10 (which is the fastest time in history) from 2015.
In addition to being a historically high-ranking swim, McIntosh’s performance here is also faster than the winning time at NCAA Championships in both 2021 and 2022, swum by Paige Madden in a 1:42.35 and Taylor Ruck in a 1:41.12, respectively.
McIntosh wrapped up her Friday night finals session with a 22.22 split of Sarasota’s 4×50 freestyle relay. She, Addison Sauickie, Maeve Eckerman, and Briana Deierlein came together for a 1:31.49 for second place behind Carmel Swim Club’s 1:30.08.
So now to watch tomorrow whether Summer has another time that it is faster than last year’s NCAA Championship winning time. If so, that would be surpassing the winning NCAA time in three individual events, and doing so in Grade 11 in her first ever meet swimming yards. Three individual wins being the ultimate individual accomplishment at an NCAA Champs (ignoring records), that would provide strong justification for Summer’s decision to advance her swimming career by turning pro instead of competing at the NCAA level.
She’s already said that she’s not going into the NCAA. Yards swimming most likely is helping her turns and her speed so when she goes into the LC pool, she’s more conditioned. I don’t see her joining the NCAA
As I mentioned, she already made that decision. She said last year that she wasn’t going to swim NCAA.
But to go swimming for exemple with Bob Bowman one day as a pro, why not?
Historically, most swimmers who have skipped college altogether to turn pro have not lived up to expectations. We could have a rousing debate about whether that is the fault of the “going pro” or the “expectations,” but to me the two are inextricably coupled (without the expectations…the athletes would’ve just gone to college).
Doesn’t mean it never works. The greatest ever didn’t swim in college. But it’s not a great track record.
To me the value proposition has dramatically changed. If you’re Thomas Heilman and you go to Bob Bowman and say “Coach, I wanna come swim for the Sun Devils, but I want my focus to be on long course and Olympic meets,” he’s going to say “We can… Read more »
Is that as true for Canadians as it is for Americans? Obviously plenty of non-North American athletes have continued to train in their own countries while accepting prize money and endorsements instead of moving to the U.S. to swim NCAA, but I don’t know how often top Canadian swimmers take the American path of coming to the U.S. to swim NCAA.
(Most of the Winter Olympics sports outside of hockey aren’t NCAA sports (and NCAA isn’t the “elite” path for skiiing) so I’m genuinely not familiar with how often top Canadian athletes take the American NCAA path versus going pro, but I’m guessing NCAA isn’t quite as ubiquitous across all summer sports for Canadians as it is for Americans.)
There are plenty of Canadian high-ranking global athletes who don’t do NCAA in many Olympic sports.
Some Canadians who have gone the NCAA route have had it pay off (Mac Neil one of the best examples) and many who have done it and it hasn’t been a big help in their Olympic career.
Perhaps the problem isn’t going pro or the expectations but rather that swimming in the US is set up in a way that disadvantages anyone that doesn’t go the college route.
Penny Oleksiak didn’t swim NCAA’s as she turned PRO right after RIO. Kylie Masse also didn’t swim NCAA’s. Neither did Brent Hayden or Ryan Cochrane among many others. Many great Canadian swimmers choose to stay home to train with their coaches.
Silly question but I’m not familiar with the US system, will we get a winter juniors finals so we can see Summer race the Sandpiper girls head to head?
We will not. There’s one unified meet in the summer in long course, but in the winter in yards, it’s just going to be an east and a west champion.
How many times will the public see the Sandpipers of Nevada at the 2023 Pro Swim Series Tour?
https://swimswam.com/usa-swimming-announces-four-stop-schedule-for-2023-pro-swim-series/
I am enjoying her accomplishments in the pool but I honestly don’t care about her SCY swims. I would expect her to turn pro and not be eligible to compete in NCAA swimming. I get the Sarasota team aspect of staying in Greensboro to compete and also the race experience benefit. But it still seems strange for her to be there.
She is a pro
Winter Juniors is electric. I honestly think the atmosphere is a better preparation for what she’s going to face in the next two years than US Open is, even if it’s yards.
These great meets remind me of the Winter Seniors back in the day. Great meet and glad there are two so more can compete.
Wow
Hmm nfjfb