Summer McIntosh erases the oldest women’s swimming world record
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Summer McIntosh delivered a defining swim on the opening night of the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials.
In one of the most anticipated races of the week, McIntosh won the women’s 200m butterfly in 2:01.65. That is now the fastest time ever in the event and shaved 0.34 seconds off her own Canadian record.
The time eclipsed the long-standing world record of 2:01.81 set by China’s Liu Zige in 2009, during what has been dubbed the “super suit era”, before textiles and suit design became more tightly regulated.
For McIntosh, the swim carried years of buildup and emotion.
“This is something that I’ve been working on for a really long time,” she said. “Getting so close after the World Championships in Singapore, and then it became a possibility. So, to now do it on the first day of Trials is a great way to kick off the meet.”
She added that the atmosphere inside the arena unfolded with growing awareness of what was on the line.. “The crowd was always loud throughout the whole race, but I could tell on the last 50 that I must have been close to world record pace,” she said.
The 19-year-old has long viewed the mark as the ultimate target in the event. “That was the one world record I’ve always dreamed of as a kid,” she said. “In the past few years especially, really wanting to break it. I think it’s so fast, so to now do it is really incredible.”
McIntosh, the Olympic champion in this event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the 2025 world champion, and a back-to-back world champion in 2022 and 2023, continues to set the standard. She now owns the world record in four events: the 200m and 400m individual medleys, the 400m freestyle, and the 200m fly.
Mary-Sophie Harvey finished second in 2:10.15, and Clare Watson rounded out the podium in 2:12.58.
The opening night has already set a high bar at these Trials, which serve as a qualification for this summer’s Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026.
In the women’s 100m backstroke, Taylor Ruck, swimming out of lane 3, entered the race as a strong contender but had to overcome the pre-race favourite and current Canadian record holder, Kylie Masse, who was targeting a third consecutive title in the event. Ruck matched Masse stroke for stroke, turning slightly ahead at the 50m mark in 28.16 to Masse’s 28.32. Ruck took control of the race and touched first in a personal best 58.37 to secure the national title and mark her first victory of the Trials.
Kylie Masse finished second in 58.87. Ingrid Wilm held firm in the medal positions, turning third at the 50 in 28.79. She maintained her position and touched in 59.21 to claim bronze, holding off a late push from Madison Kryger, who finished fourth in 59.59.
The men’s 200m freestyle saw the outside lanes set the early pace, with Ruslan Gaziev blasting out of lane 9 to grab the initial lead. At the 100m mark, Gaziev remained in front, while Finlay Knox made a strong move from lane 1 into second in 52.45, just behind Gaziev’s 52.02 split. However, the race shifted dramatically on the back half as Lorne Wigginton had a powerful closing 100m to surge through the field and take victory in 1:47.37, building on his 1:47.33 prelim swim.
Behind him, Laon Kim and Ethan Ekk tied for silver in 1:47.56, while Knox finished just off the podium in fourth at 1:48.40.
in the men’s 100m backstroke, Blake Tierney finished atop the podium with a time of 53.63 seconds, just outside his Canadian record of 52.95 seconds. Raben Dommann (53.79) and Parker Deshayes (54.73) completed the top three in the event.
In the men’s 200m butterfly, Minhyuk Park led the pace in a tight opening 50m, with Anton Semenyuk and Benjamin Loewen close behind. Semenyuk then took control of the race at the halfway mark and maintained his lead over the final two lengths. He went on to win in 1:57.84, breaking his own Canadian age group record of 1:58.40. Loewen finished in 1:58.59, while Jordi Vilchez made a big move to finish third in 1:59.69.
For the first time in 14 years, Montreal’s Parc Olympique is host of the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials. The return to Parc Olympique provides a fitting opportunity to celebrate one of the most significant moments in Canadian swimming history. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, where Canadian swimmers captured eight of the country’s 11 medals. To commemorate the milestone, Swimming Canada honoured athletes, coaches, and staff from the 1976 team during a special opening-day ceremony.
You can catch all the action throughout the week. CBC Gem and https://www.cbc.ca/player/sports/live will stream each session beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT for heats and 5:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT for finals. Every session will also be live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CBCSports/streams.
