Summer McIntosh vs Katie Grimes: Which young swimmer has had the better performance so far?

Katie Grimes and Summer McIntosh represent the sheer depth in the sport of swimming. The fact that the two athletes, at the ages of 16 and 17, are already performing exceptionally well on the national and international stages, is proof that the future of the sport is bright.

With three world titles, McIntosh has had the better performance on the international stage compared to Grimes. However, we take an in-depth comparative look at the careers of the two up-and-comers.

Summer McIntosh and Katie Grimes compete in the Women's 400m Individual Medley Final at the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships

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Grimes vs McIntosh

Both Grimes and McIntosh made their Long Course World Championship debuts in 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. American Katie Grimes left the Worlds with two silver medals in the 1500m freestyle and the 400m individual medley. She swam in the 400m IM final against Canada's McIntosh.

Summer McIntosh was one of the youngest competitors at the 2022 Worlds. Aged 15, she swam in the 200m butterfly final and stunned everyone in attendance as she became the first 15-year-old to win a world title in more than a decade. Her gold medal was Canada's first ever medal at the event.

The Canadian swimmer won another silver medal at the Worlds, becoming the fourth woman in history to record a time of under four minutes in the 400m freestyle. She swam in the 4×200m freestyle final and won a bronze medal along with her team.

(L-R) Silver medalist, Katie Grimes, Summer McIntosh, and Emma Weyant pose with their medals during the medal ceremony for the Women's 400m Individual Medley Fon at the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships

Katie Grimes and Summer McIntosh faced off against each other in the 400m individual medley final. The Canadian edged out a victory over Grimes by 0.63 seconds and became the first Canadian to win two gold medals at a single World Championships. Speaking to CBC Sports after the race, she praised Grimes and said:

"This is a dream come true ... It's really cool to race someone like Katie as she is around my age and she's a really tough competitor ... So I'm looking forward to racing her and keep pushing myself."

In addition to winning two gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal at her first Long Course World Championships, McIntosh has displayed her abilities in the short course pool as well at the 2021 SC World Championships. In Abu Dhabi, she won a silver medal in the 4×100m medley relay, a gold medal in the 4×200m freestyle relay and another silver medal in the 400m freestyle where she finished behind China's Li Bingjie.

America's Katie Grimes is a versatile swimmer in her own right. She competes in the long course pool but also takes her talent to the open water. At the 2022 US Open Water National Championships, Grimes won the 10 km marathon swim and qualified for the event at the World Championships where she finished fifth with a time of 2:02:37.2, less than 10 seconds behind the gold medalist.