McIntosh sets world record in 400 freestyle at short-course swimming championships

BUDAPEST — Summer McIntosh's sensational swimming season is ending with a bang.

The 18-year-old from Toronto started the season-ending short-course world championships, and kicked off the quadrennial leading up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with a world-record setting victory in the women's 400-metre freestyle.

She later helped Canada to bronze in the women's 4x100 freestyle relay, and upon leaving the pool was informed that she won the Northern Star Award as Canada's athlete of the year.

"I still don’t think stuff like this ever fully sets in, but we’ve just got to keep it rolling," McIntosh said. "There’s been so many other amazing swims tonight for Team Canada and this is just Day 1. The next couple days of racing should be awesome and we’ll just try to keep the momentum going."

McIntosh had already put together a spectacular 2024 campaign heading into the short-course championships.

She won three gold medals at this year's Paris Olympics, becoming the first Canadian athlete to accomplish that feat at an Olympic Games, summer or winter.

McIntosh set Olympic records in both the 200-metre medley and 200 butterfly and also won gold in the 400 medley. She added a silver in the 400 freestyle.

And she has several more chances to add to her 2024 accomplishments. McIntosh is also set to compete in the 400-metre individual medley, 200-metre butterfly, 200 backstroke and three more relays in Budapest, where she won two gold, a silver and a bronze in a breakout performance at the 2022 long-course championships.

On Tuesday, McIntosh swam to victory in three minutes 50.25 seconds, well ahead of Australia's Lani Pallister (3:53.73), for her first career individual short-course gold.

Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivières, Que., was third in 3:54.88 to pick up her first international medal.

“I absolutely love this pool. It holds so many memories for me back in 2022 so to be back here after a lot has changed since then is kind of cool and it’s definitely a very fast pool as well," McIntosh said. "To set the tone it’s always amazing to get Day 1 started off right."

Later, McIntosh and Harvey teamed with Toronto's Penny Oleksiak and Calgary's Ingrid Wilm to claim bronze in the women's 4x100 freestyle relay in a time of 3:28.44.

The Americans won in a world-record time of 3:25.01, 3.24 seconds ahead of Australia.

Harvey just missed out on a third medal with a fourth-place finish in the women's 200 medley.

“It feels a little surreal. It’s always been a dream of mine," Harvey said. "For years I was like, ‘the relay swimmer,’ and it feels really great to finally step on that podium individually."

In men's competition, Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., took bronze in the men's 200 medley in 1:50.90. Shaine Casas of the United States (1:49.51) won gold and Italy's Alberto Razzetti took silver (1:50.88).

“Going into this competition, I wasn’t maybe as fit as I should be, but the overarching thing with all competitions is if you’re there mentally," said Knox, who won the long-course world title in the discipline earlier this year.

"I made sure to go in there mentally as tough as I could be, and put down the best performance I could on the night. It was a little long on the touch, two one-hundredths off silver, but to get back on the podium at the first major competition since the Olympics, I’m pretty happy."

The short-course championship takes place in a 25-metre pool, as opposed to the Olympic-standard 50-metre pool. McIntosh said before the event that competing in the shorter pool would give her a chance to work on her turns.

Australia's Ariarne Titmus holds the women's 400 freestyle long-course world record, which was previously held by McIntosh.

In other action Tuesday, Ilya Kharun advanced through his semifinal in the 50 butterfly with a time of 21.93. It was the Montreal native’s second time under 22 seconds for the day, as he lowered his Canadian record to 21.84 in his morning heat.

Wilm (55.83) and Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ont., (56.06) advanced through the 100 backstroke semis in third and fifth spots. Masse won the long-course world championship in the distance here in 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press