Was Summer McIntosh the breakout star of 2022? A look at the swimmer’s career so far

Summer McIntosh is a rising star. She first gained recognition at the age of 14. McIntosh competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and finished fourth in the 400-meter freestyle.

She started her career in 2021, and within two years, she became a known name in the swimming world. McIntosh was a breakout star in 2022. She won four gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronzes this year.

McIntosh started her 2022 journey with a preparatory 400-meter event in March. She finished the race in a record time of 4:29:12, setting a record.

Summer defeated swimming star Katie Ledecky at the beginning of the year, and towards the end of the year, she set a record as the fourth-fastest 400-meter individual medley swimmer. McIntosh registered a win against Katie by a close margin of 28.61 seconds, the fourth fastest in history.

She made her senior year debut at the FINA World Aquatic Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Summer competed in the 400-meter freestyle and was second in the finale.

Summer McIntosh won the gold medal in the 400-meter medley and 200-meter butterfly at the 2022 Budapest Games. She also won bronze in the 4x200-meter freestyle.

McIntosh then competed at the Commonwealth Games and won two golds, three silvers, and one bronze.

She won gold in the 200-meter and 400-meter medleys, silver in the 400-meter freestyle, 4x100-meter medley, and 4x200-meter freestyle, and bronze in the 4 x 100-meter freestyle.

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The early and professional life of Summer McIntosh

Summer McIntosh was born on August 18, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to former Canadian Olympic team swimmer Jill Horstead and Greg McIntosh. She has an older sister, Brooke, who is also into sports and is a competitive pair skater.

McIntosh started her career in 2021 and won the 200-meter freestyle event over training partner Penny Oleksiak. She qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and became the youngest athlete to join the Canadian Olympic team.

In her first event, Summer broke the Canadian national record with a time of 4:02:42 after finishing fourth in the 400-meter freestyle.

Summer McIntosh (Image via Spitser Photography/Jack Spitser)

McIntosh placed ninth in the women's 200-meter freestyle semifinals but missed the finals. Moreover, she was part of the Canadian team alongside Oleksiak, Kayla Sanchez, and Rebecca Smith to compete in the 4 x 200-meter relay. She competed in the International Swimming League as part of the Toronto Titans team.

Summer McIntosh also took part in the 2021 World Championship held in Abu Dhabi and won a gold medal in the 4x200-meter freestyle and two silver medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter medley.

The 16-year-old teenager has competed in over 50 age categories and has broken numerous records in her career. In October 2022, she set a new world junior record in the 400-meter freestyle while competing at the 2022 FINA Swimming World Cup in Toronto. She won six medals in the 2022 edition of the Swimming World Cup, including three golds, one silver, and two bronzes.