Toronto’s own Summer McIntosh just broke a world record that had survived for nearly 17 years! The 19-year-old swimming phenom made history at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Montreal on Sunday night, finishing the women’s 200-metre butterfly in 2:01.65 and breaking the longest-standing individual women’s world record in swimming.
The previous record of 2:01.81 had belonged to China’s Liu Zige since 2009, so McIntosh broke it by 0.16 seconds.
“As you can see my emotions, this is the absolute world [to me],” McIntosh said after the race. “Growing up this is the one world record I thought I would never break and to do it tonight is really special in front of a home crowd.
“It means the absolute world and I’m in shock right now.”
This latest achievement was a long time coming and adds another huge milestone to an already remarkable career for the Toronto-born athlete. McIntosh won three gold medals and one silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Canadian athlete to win three golds at a single Olympic Games. One of those victories came in the 200 m butterfly, the same event in which she just made history again.
According to the Olympic Committee, McIntosh has since moved her training base to Austin, Texas, where she works with Bob Bowman, the longtime coach of Michael Phelps.
And she’s not done racing in Montreal, either: McIntosh is scheduled to compete in the 400 m individual medley on Monday, the 400 m freestyle on Tuesday and the 200 m individual medley on Wednesday.
The five-day trials are being used to select Canadian teams for several international meets, including the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, from Aug 12 to 15.