Canadian swim star Summer McIntosh sets three world junior records in three days

Due to her incredible performances, Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh has often been dubbed the upcoming swimming star. The 16-year-old recently set three world junior records in the 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

McIntosh broke junior records in the 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter fly earlier in March and then improved on those times for the 200-meter individual medley.

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A look back at what world junior records Summer McIntosh broke

The first record she set was in the 200-meter butterfly. McIntosh set her maiden meeting record at a time of 2:05.05.

Then earlier in the gala, McIntosh defeated Katie Ledecky in the 200-meter freestyle, snapping her nine-year winning streak. The Canadian broke the national record for her nation as well when she completed it in 1:54.13.

On Saturday, March 4, Summer McIntosh broke the record for the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:08.08. She had previously set a record at the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a time of 2:08:70. This time is also a new Canadian record.

In Tokyo 2020, McIntosh made her Olympic debut at 14 and placed fourth in the 200-meter freestyle. She won her first international championship a year later at the Budapest 2022 World Championships.

The Canadian swimmer appears to be on track to compete in her second Olympic Games with Paris 2024 just around the horizon.

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Summer McIntosh's life and career

A 16-year-old Canadian competitive swimmer named Summer McIntosh was born on August 18, 2006. At the 1984 Summer Olympics, Summer's mother Jill competed as a competitive swimmer and finished ninth overall in the 200-meter Breaststroke B Final. In the same competition at the Commonwealth Games in 1986, she also took home a bronze medal.

When Summer was just nine years old and a member of the Lakeshore Swim Club, Jill gazed at her rowdy young child and let out an "Oooh yeah" moment. Summer was, in other words, quite quick, she realized.

McIntosh has created more than 50 age-group national swimming records. She established a world record for the fastest 400-meter freestyle time ever by a 14-year-old swimmer in May 2021 with a timing of 4:05.13.

She defeated training partner Penny Oleksiak in the 2021 Canada Olympic swimming trials in Toronto to win the 200-meter freestyle event in 1:56.19, a personal best and the quickest time ever recorded by a 14-year-old swimmer globally.

She won gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle at the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships in the summer and silver in the 4x100-meter medley and 400-meter freestyle. McIntosh broke the 400-meter freestyle world junior record, the World Cup record, the American record, and the Canadian record on the first day of competition. Her winning time of 3:52.80 earned her the gold medal.

Summer McIntosh won two gold medals in the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, which were held from June 18 to June 25 and featured the 200-meter fly and 400-meter medley events. She further took home bronze and silver medals in the 400-meter and 4x200-meter freestyle.

At Birmingham, England, in 2022, McIntosh took part in his first Commonwealth Games competition. She decided to forego the 200-meter butterfly race in order to focus on the other events, and on the first day of the competition, she won gold in the 400-meter medley, reducing her personal best to 4:29.01 and breaking new records for the world junior, Commonwealth, and national championships. At the finish line, she outlasted Kiah Melverton by 7.77 seconds, winning the silver medal.