Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh shattered the women’s 400m freestyle world record on Saturday at the Canadian Swimming Trials, clocking an astonishing 3 minutes, 54.18 seconds.
This dominant performance in Victoria, British Columbia, serves as a strong statement ahead of this year’s World Championships in Singapore.
The 18-year-old, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and former world record holder in the event, significantly improved upon the previous record of 3:55.38 set by Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in 2023.
“Going into tonight, I knew that my training had been excellent these past few months, and I knew that I could do something special,” McIntosh shared, expressing surprise at just how special it was. “I mean, I didn’t think my training would be 54.1, but I’m delighted with that overall.”
This was McIntosh’s first race at the trials, which are the selection meet for the World Championships taking place from July 11 to August 3.
She has entered seven events and plans to compete in five at the global competition. Having won gold in the 200m butterfly, 200m medley, and 400m medley at the Paris Olympics, McIntosh will be looking to add to her four existing world titles in Singapore.
With Titmus taking the season off, McIntosh’s main rival in the 400m freestyle is expected to be US great Katie Ledecky.
However, McIntosh’s record-breaking swim suggests she’s more than ready for the challenge.
“To be honest, I didn’t feel a lot of pain in that,” she said of her race. “I just felt so strong throughout, and that’s never been the case in the 400 freestyle for me.”
She noted feeling strong even in the final 100 metres, a point where she usually struggles.
“I could tell by the crowd and the way they were cheering that I was probably close to the world record, so I tried to push that last part for them,” McIntosh added.
