Summer McIntosh takes historic gold in 200m butterfly at World Aquatics Championships
Summer McIntosh claimed her third straight gold medal of this edition of the World Aquatics Championships, this time in the women’s 200m butterfly.
She is the first Canadian to ever win three gold medals at a single world championships and the first Canadian to win three world titles in the same event.
McIntosh absolutely dominated the final, swimming to a time of 2:01.99. Despite leaving her competitors behind, there was some slight disappointment by the 18-year-old phenom after she touched the wall and realized that she came within 18 one-hundredths of a second of erasing the oldest world record in women’s swimming.
The women’s 200m butterfly world record belongs to China’s Liu Zige, who set the world record at 2:01.81 in 2009 during what has been dubbed the “super suit era,” before textiles and suit design became more tightly regulated.
McIntosh’s time is the second fastest of all time, and the fastest ever in a textile suit. This is her third world title in the event, following her victories in 2022 and 2023, which preceded her winning Olympic gold at Paris 2024. McIntosh lowered her own Canadian record from the 2:02.26 that she swam at the Canadian Trials in June. Her time on Thursday is also a world championship and Americas record.
“Seeing how close I was (to the 200 fly world record) gives me a lot of confidence and the way I felt in that final is amazing as well so I’m super, super excited for the 800 (free) and then of course the 400 IM,” McIntosh said. “Now all my focus is on getting a good recovery tonight and then getting ready for the (800) heats.”
McIntosh is joined on the podium by American Regan Smith in the silver medal position, who finished a full three seconds behind McIntosh with a time of 2:04.99. Australian Elizabeth Dekkers took bronze with a time of 2:06.12.
This is career World Aquatics medal number 11 for McIntosh, making her the most decorated Canadian across all World Aquatics disciplines. Swimmer Kylie Masse and diver Jennifer Abel each have 10 medals to their name.
Masse just missed her 11th medal on Thursday, finishing just 0.03 out of third place in the women’s 50m backstroke final. Blake Tierney advanced to the final of the men’s 200m backstroke after breaking the national record twice on Thursday, first in the heats and then in the semifinals.
The world championships continue in Singapore until August 3. You can watch Team Canada compete on CBC.
