April 28th, 2023
The Canadian swim trials have finished and Canada has a strong group of swimmers to send out to Fukuoka, Japan for the World Aquatics Championship in July. Among Canada’s greatest swimmers, one athlete stands out from the rest for an amazing performance breaking multiple world records at only 16 years old: Summer McIntosh. This swimming prodigy is brimming with power and potential, enough for Summer McIntosh to be the considered fastest female swimmer in the world.
Summer McIntosh’s Past in Swimming
McIntosh first made headlines at just 14 years old at the Tokyo Olympic games in 2020, even younger than Michael Phelps at his first Olympics in 2000 at 15 years old. As the daughter of former Olympian Jill Horstead, there were big expectations for the youngest swimmer on Canada’s team. McIntosh did not disappoint; finishing fourth in the 400m freestyle and the 4x200m relay. Of course, this was just the beginning of her swimming career.
The Canadian Swim Trials
Her most recent swimming appearance, at the Canadian swim trials, was where Summer McIntosh showed the world just how fast she could be. In the 200m butterfly, she broke the world junior and Canadian record with a time of 2:04.70. She also broke her own junior world record 200m individual medley time. But the records making headlines are the 400m freestyle and 400m individual medley world records; records that McIntosh broke on the Tuesday and Saturday of the swim trials.
Taking a closer look at the new world records, it becomes clear just how impressive McIntosh’s performance was. The first record, 400m freestyle, was a fairly new record set by Ariarne Titmus from the Australian Swimming Championships in 2022, which is exciting since this means we’ll likely be able to see the past and present record holders race at either the World Aquatics Championship in July, or later at the 2024 Olympics. The 400m individual medley (100m each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and front crawl) was a seven year old record set by Katinka Hosszú. McIntosh is now the first Canadian woman to hold two long course world records since 1967, and is the first swimmer in the world to hold both world records at the same time.
What We Can Look Forward To
Given how Summer McIntosh is only 16, it’s safe to say that this is only the beginning for the world’s fastest female swimmer. She’s already on the roster for Canada’s team for the World Aquatics Championship, and is on track to win some Olympic gold medals in 2024. Looking further ahead; swimmers typically peak between the ages of 21-26, although swimmers like Michael Phelps were still winning gold in their thirties, so it’s possible Summer McIntosh could still have a strong swimming career for a decade or more. Let’s continue to tune into these historic swimming events, and cheer on Summer McIntosh as she represents team Canada for years to come.
By : Taylor Murphy
Categories: Sports
