Katie Ledecky, Natalie Hinds, Summer McIntosh head for Southern Zone South Sectionals Championships

All eyes are on Orlando at the Southern Zone South Sectionals Championships with world champions Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh set to heighten the competition. Natalie Hinds, who has made her mark in freestyle and butterfly events, is also set to compete in the event.

The four-day swimming long course meter competition starts on Thursday (February 8). The event will kick off with the men's and women's 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 800 freestyle, 100 butterfly, and 400 free relay.

The Southern Zone South Sectional Championships, which will be held at Rosen Aquatic Center, attracts thousands of fans and brings out the best in the swimmers. This year's event is set to be highly competitive owing to the US Olympic trials, which is just three months away.

Potential Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh showdown in the cards

The rivalry between Ledecky, who has won a world record 16 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and Summer McIntosh, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics at just 14-years of age, has reached an all-time high.

McIntosh beat Ledecky in the 400m freestyle at the 2022 FINA World Cup, but the American returned the favour in the 2022 US Open championship. In 2023, McIntosh set a world junior record in the 200m freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series.

Summer McIntosh competing at the TYR Pro Swim Series.

In an interview on Peacock after the race, the teenaged swimmer said she learned a lot from her experience. She said:

"After that race, I learned a lot about how to get back out after it. I had so many races after that that I was really happy with. No matter how bad one race is, you really get back up and get back into it."

Ledecky, 26, has been very impressed with McIntosh's achievements. According to The Athletic, the Olympic gold medalist said of her rival:

"I was really impressed with it. Given that she's in the US and going to all the same meets that I'm going to, basically, you just see it up close in all of her strokes. She was improving."