Five facts about Summer McIntosh, the teen swimmer who is smashing world records

Summer McIntosh is making waves in the swimming world after breaking three world records in five days. PHOTO: REUTERS

Hana Chen

UPDATED Jun 12, 2025, 04:22 PM

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SINGAPORE - Three world records in five days – Summer McIntosh is making waves with her performances at the Canadian Swimming Trials for the 2025 World Aquatic Championships. 

On June 11, the eighteen-year-old clocked 4 min 23.65sec in the 400m individual medley to better her own world record of 4:24.38 set at the 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials. 

The teenager achieved not one, but three record-breaking feats in the June 7-12 meet. On the first day of racing, she regained the 400m freestyle world record with a time of 3:54.18, before breaking the decade-long 200m individual medley mark in 2:05.70. 

The Straits Times looks at five fun facts to know about the teen swimming sensation.

1. She was the youngest member of the Canadian team in the 2020 Olympics 

At 14, McIntosh won the 200m freestyle during the 2021 Canadian Olympic swimming trials, held in her hometown of Toronto. She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and was the youngest member of Canada’s Olympic team.

Though she did not medal in any of the events she competed in, her fourth-place finish with a time of 4:02.42 in the 400m freestyle broke the Canadian national record.

2. At 18, she has three Olympic golds and four world titles

Since her Olympic debut, McIntosh has gone from strength to strength, earning two gold medals in the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley. She added another two golds in the same events in the 2023 edition.

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, she claimed three gold medals in the 200m and 400m individual medley, and the 200m butterfly. She also won a silver in the 400m freestyle. 

The teenager now has 14 golds, six silvers, and six bronzes across the Olympics, World Championships, World Swimming Championships (25m), Swimming World Cup, and Commonwealth Games.

3. She was 16 when she broke her first world record

In the 2023 national swimming trials, McIntosh won the 400m freestyle with a timing of 3min 56.08sec to claim her first world record aged 16. A few days later, she broke the 400m medley world mark after clocking 4:25.87. 

McIntosh became the first swimmer in history to hold both the 400m freestyle and 400m medley world records at the same time.

4. She comes from an athletic family

Her mother Jill Horstead was a former national swimmer and she was part of the Canadian Olympic team in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. She swam in the 200m butterfly, placing ninth overall.

McIntosh’s older sister, Brooke, is a professional figure skater. At the 2025 Spanish national championships, the 20-year-old and then-partner Marco Zandron were crowned champions in pair skating.

5. Will she be as good as Michael Phelps?

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, United States swimming legend Michael Phelps won eight gold medals and smashed four individual world records – a feat that remains unmatched by any swimmer.

Only 18, McIntosh could follow in the swimming legend’s footsteps in the future after putting together one of the best single-meet performances in history.

At the Canadian swimming trials, she is the first swimmer since Phelps to break world records in three individual events over a long course meet. 

Phelps is the only swimmer to win five gold medals in a single Olympics (2008) or world championships (2007).

McIntosh will get the chance to match that as she plans to compete in five individual events in the upcoming world championships, which will be held in Singapore from July 11 to August 3.

After the world championships, McIntosh plans to move to Austin, Texas, to work with Bob Bowman, who coached Phelps for his entire career.

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