"She is as calm and confident" - Summer McIntosh’s coach ahead of her face-off with Katie Ledecky

Summer McIntosh is often regarded as the greatest emerging swimmer after Katie Ledecky. The Canadian came to the forefront when she defeated Ledecky at a Pro Series swim meet in Florida in March 2023, and broke the American's nine-year record of winning at home.

McIntosh was 14 when she achieved a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics. That year, she became the youngest member of the Canadian team. In 2022, she became the youngest world champion and also the first Canadian to win two gold medals at a single World Championships.

As 16-year-old McIntosh gears up to lock horns with the seven-time Olympic gold medalist in the 2023 World Aquatics Championship, her coach Brent Arckey recently weighed in on her preparations.

In an interview with CBC Sports on July 13, Arckey spoke about the swimmer’s participation in four individual events — 400m free, 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, and 200m free — and her face-off with Ledecky.

"Isn't that what we want? It's what our sport needs. It's good for the sport. We should all be excited as swimming enthusiasts. I know Summer is," Arckey said, expressing his excitement to watch the highly anticipated clash.

Furthermore, he shared that as a team, they were ready to compete against some of the best swimmers in the competition. He added that McIntosh was not feeling any pressure ahead of the grand moment.

“ McIntosh is as calm and confident as ever," he added.

The coach remarked that he was happy for McIntosh and explained how she was preparing for the championship.

"I think she takes all this stuff in stride. I love her mentality. It's just swimming. It's high pressure but it's just swimming and I think she does a good job of balancing that. It's not who she is, it's something she does,” he said, showing his confidence in his pupil.

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Throwback to when Katie Ledecky was defeated by Summer McIntosh

In March 2023, Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh went neck-to-neck at the Pro Series Swim meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The results of the competition shocked fans as the teenager defeated the 27-year-old legend by a difference of a few seconds.

Phillips 66 National Championships - Day 5

Summer McIntosh clocked a lightning time of 1.54.13 to defeat Ledecky by a margin of 0.83 seconds. Not only did it break the iconic swimmer’s nine-year winning streak in the US but also became her first defeat in the domestic long-course 200-meter freestyle since 2014.