Summer McIntosh breaks own 400m IM world record to cap historic streak
Summer McIntosh has set her third world record in five days at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria.
She capped her historic streak by breaking her own world record in the women’s 400m individual medley on Wednesday night. McIntosh’s time of 4:23.65 shaved 0.73 of a second off the time she set at last year’s Trials.
McIntosh has set one record per day over the last five days. Along with the three world records were two Canadian records that brought her ever closer to the global marks in those events.
She is the first swimmer to break three different individual long course world records in one meet since Michael Phelps at Beijing 2008. She’s the first woman to accomplish that feat in swimming since Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands at Sydney 2000.
“During the meet I don’t really like to think about it,” said McIntosh, who is the reigning Olympic champion and a two-time world champion in the 400m IM. “I’ll celebrate and then kind of process it and focus on the next race.
“I know I can go faster.”
On the opening day of the Trials on Saturday, McIntosh took back the world record in the women’s 400m freestyle, which she had first put her name on at the 2023 Canadian Trials before it was broken a few months later. She became the first woman to go under 3:55 in the event, stopping the clock at 3:54.18.
READ: McIntosh reclaims world record on opening weekend of Bell Canadian Swimming Trials
On Sunday, she posted the third-fastest time ever in the women’s 800m freestyle. Her 8:05.07 was just 0.95 shy of the world record set by American Katie Ledecky in May.
Monday saw McIntosh break Hungarian Katinka Hosszu’s nearly 10-year-old record in the women’s 200m individual medley with her time of 2:05.70.
READ: Summer McIntosh smashes 10-year-old world record at Bell Canadian Swimming Trials
The next night, she almost erased the oldest women’s swimming world record. Her time of 2:02.26 in the women’s 200m butterfly was just 0.45 shy of the mark set by China’s Liu Zige in 2009 before suit textiles and designs became tightly regulated.
READ: Summer McIntosh comes closer to erasing oldest women’s swimming world record
When asked whether it was harder to break her own records or take down those of another swimmer, McIntosh hesitated for just a moment.
“I think it’s more fun chasing records that you haven’t broken yet,” she responded. “It’s immensely easier to break your own because you kind of have to look at it as just going your personal best time.”
While McIntosh’s record performance on Wednesday night was expected, Ethan Ekk’s in the men’s 200m backstroke was definitely surprising—to even himself. The 18-year-old, who was raised in Tallahassee, Florida by parents who grew up in Vancouver, took 0.20 off the old Canadian record with his time of 1:56.54.
“Very unimaginable. So very happy with that,” said Ekk, who won five medals at last year’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships. He and former national record holder Blake Tierney have both qualified for the World Aquatics Championships in the event.
There was also a surprise in the women’s 200m backstroke as 16-year-old Madison Kryger won the event in 2:09.88 and almost immediately burst into tears. She and runner-up Ingrid Wilm were both under the AQUQ A qualifying time for the world championships.
“We’ve done so much training this year, it’s been so hard,” said Kryger. “It just means a lot to finally see my hard work paying off.”
Mary-Sophie Harvey was the runner-up to McIntosh in the 400m IM, but her personal best time of 4:35.56 also qualified her for the world championships in the event. In the men’s 400m IM, a pair of Olympians produced a thrilling race as Tristan Jankovics held off a late charge from Lorne Wigginton. Both were under the AQUA A qualifying time for the worlds.
The Bell Canadian Swimming Trials will wrap up on Thursday night, after which the Canadian team for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be revealed. The swimming competition at the worlds will take place July 26 to August 3 in Singapore.
