Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh continues to redefine the limits of her sport, as the 18-year-old shattered two World Records in three days at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials in the lead-up to World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
On Monday night, McIntosh delivered a historic performance in front of a capacity crowd at Saanich Commonwealth Place, becoming the fastest woman in history in the 200m individual medley. Her time of 2:05.70 erased the longstanding world record of 2:06.12, a mark held by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu since 2015.
“It’s been one of those records that’s always been in the back of my mind since trials two years ago,” said McIntosh, the reigning Olympic champion in the event. “I’ve been knocking on the door on this one. I’ve just tried to chip away, chip away at it. To finally do it, it’s kind of like, ‘Wow, I’ve finally got that done.'”
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The feat marked McIntosh’s second World Record in three days, following her record-breaking performance in the 400m freestyle on Saturday, where she clocked 3:54.18, taking more than a full second off the previous mark held by Australian Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus.
That swim provoked a rare emotional display from McIntosh, who smashed the water and clenched her fist in triumph after seeing her time.
“Touching the wall, you can kind of see my outburst of emotions because I was really not expecting that time,” McIntosh said afterwards. “After two years of really pushing my hardest every day and training in this event and not seeing the results… all that energy and anger and blood, sweat, and tears built up, and then finally having an amazing swim in it is just really, really satisfying.”
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It was a record she had once held herself, clocking 3:56.08 in March 2023, before Titmus bettered it. But in Victoria, McIntosh’s composed first half and blistering back-end speed made all the difference.
She nearly made it three world records in three nights, narrowly missing the 800m freestyle world record on Sunday. Her time of 8:05.07 set a new Canadian record and ranks as the third-fastest swim in history, just 0.95 seconds shy of Katie Ledecky’s world best.
“I’m trying to take it one race at a time,” she said. “Really kind of cruising the heats and then coming to every final super locked in and focused.”
With these performances, McIntosh now holds three long-course world records—in the 400m freestyle, 400m individual medley, and now the 200m individual medley—alongside additional world records in the short-course pool in the 400 free, 200 fly, and 400 IM.
More than 700 swimmers are competing at the Canadian Trials, which run through Thursday. The event serves as a selection meet for four major international competitions this summer, including the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore (26 July – 3 August), where McIntosh will now enter with sky-high expectations—and momentum to match.
As the swimming world turns its eyes to Singapore, one thing is clear: Summer McIntosh is not just racing history. She’s rewriting it
