At 17, swimmer Summer McIntosh is poised to become a breakout star at the Paris Olympics

Follow our Olympics coverage ahead of the Paris Games.

TORONTO – Summer McIntosh waited before making her entrance.

It was mid-May, the fourth night of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic swimming trials. McIntosh, who swam the first two nights, was ready to run the 400-meter individual medley, an event in which she is already, at age 17, a world record holder and two-time world champion.

“Summer McIntosh!“the public address announcer shouted.

McIntosh stood under a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. She was the last swimmer to be called up. McIntosh headed towards aisle 5, greeted by roars from the crowd. She adjusted her glasses, placing her hands on the lenses as she stepped onto the starting blocks.

The buzzer sounded and McIntosh dove into the pool. Eight lengths. One hundred meters for each style: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle.

Ten seconds into the race, McIntosh was in the lead. After 100 meters he was a length ahead. In the final 50 meters, McIntosh was the only swimmer visible in the broadcast. He was way ahead of the competition.

The cheers swelled as McIntosh swam to the final length. Her parents, Greg and Jill, stood up and waved their arms.

McIntosh broke his own world record by touching the wall, clocking 4:24.38, nearly a second and a half faster than his previous mark.

It was the crowning achievement of the Olympic trials in which, in several cases, he swam the fastest times in the world this year.

This is McIntosh’s stage. Competing in front of an energetic crowd. Where he has fun and feels at ease.

“The crowd was absolutely electrifying,” McIntosh said of the fans during his world-record swim. “I heard all of you guys during breaststroke – she really kept me going.”

In a few weeks, McIntosh will go from swimming in front of a replica of the Eiffel Tower to the confines of Paris’ La Défense Arena, home of the swimming competitions for the 2024 Paris Olympics, to five miles from the current Eiffel Tower.

In the “City of Lights,” the Canadian swimming phenomenon is ready to shine.

McIntosh has deep swimming roots. Her mother, Jill, swam for Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. McIntosh followed in her mother’s footsteps, swimming competitively starting at the age of 8. Away from the pool, McIntosh drew inspiration from American stars Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps. In his childhood room, McIntosh hung posters of Ledecky. He named one of his cats “Mikey” in honor of Phelps. And he watched highlights of Phelps’ historic 2008 Beijing Games, where he won eight gold medals.

Swimming at the Etobicoke Swim Club, McIntosh gained national attention. At 12, McIntosh lowered the Canadian age group record by 45 in the 800-meter freestyle. At 14, she beat Penny Oleksiak, Canada’s most decorated Olympian, in the 200-meter freestyle at the 2020 Canadian Olympic Trials, securing a spot on the Canadian team for the Tokyo Olympics.

He didn’t win any medals in Tokyo. But success came quickly.

Two Commonwealth Games gold medals in his first appearance there. Four combined world golds in 2022 and 2023. World record holder in the 400 meter medley. All within the age of 17.

At the Canadian Olympic Trials, 17-year-old Summer McIntosh set a world record in the 400-meter medley. She will be a medal contender in five events in Paris. (Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star/Getty Images)

One of the main reasons is that McIntosh moved to Sarasota, Florida to train with coach Brent Arckey of the Sarasota Sharks. With COVID-19 pandemic restrictions still in Ontario, McIntosh needed a pool to swim full-time.

Sarasota’s Selby Aquatic Center, known as “Shark Tank,” was the perfect location. Olympic swimming pool. A friendly but competitive environment. A coach from Arckey, who has experience training Olympians.

It’s a regimented training program for McIntosh. Four days a week he swims twice, early in the morning (6.30am to 8.30am) and late afternoon (3pm to 5pm). The wake-up call can be as early as 4:15 am

Training exercises on land. Two hours in the pool. Repeat.

This is what it takes to be among the best swimmers in the world. Even on the tough days, McIntosh appreciates the preparation for Paris.

“Motivation is not something you always have every single day,” McIntosh said Atletico in November. “It comes in waves. But I always have that discipline, no matter how I feel when I wake up, I go to the pool and do my best.

The Paris Olympic swimming program opens with a seismic race. The women’s 400-meter freestyle – on July 27, the first full day of events in France – will likely feature a clash between McIntosh, Ledecky and reigning Olympic and world champion Ariarne Titmus.

The last time these three competed together was in the 400 meter freestyle at last year’s world championships. Titmus swam to a world record. Ledecky finished second while McIntosh fell off the podium in fourth place.

WORLD RECORD! 🚨

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus clocked 3:55.38 in the women’s 400-meter freestyle for the world title and Katie Ledecky took silver.

📺 @peacock | #AQUAFukuoka23 pic.twitter.com/Rm7WyrbQQV

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 23, 2023

It’s from bad races that McIntosh says he learns and grows. After a conversation with Arckey and a day off from competition, McIntosh responded with four medals for the rest of the meet: two gold (200 meter butterfly and 400 meter medley) and two bronze (200 meter free and 4×100 meter). . mixed relay).

McIntosh raced against Ledecky, her idol, at the Toyota US Open nearly five months after the 2023 worlds, beating the American in the 400 freestyle in a record time. They met again in Orlando last February, where McIntosh ended Ledecky’s 13-year reign in the 800-meter freestyle. Ledecky, who recorded the 29 fastest 800-meter times in history, had not lost a final in the event since 2010.

At the Canadian Olympic Trials, McIntosh won the 400-meter freestyle in 3:59.06. It’s the fastest 400-meter freestyle of 2024, faster than McIntosh’s world record but nearly four seconds slower than Titmus’ world record (3:55.38). For much of the race, McIntosh was under the world record pace. But she later became frustrated, believing she could do better.

“I know I can go faster. I have to keep moving forward,” McIntosh said.

Arckey sees McIntosh’s 400-meter freestyle result differently. Two months from Paris, there is a path to improvement.

“There will be no sweeping changes,” Arckey said Atletico after the tests. “It’s his second fastest time ever and the fastest time in the world currently. She’s hard on herself. Definitely some things to do better, no doubt. “That’s what good ones do.”

It’s the end of the Canadian Olympic trials and McIntosh, an Olympic qualifier, is once again waiting to be called to the pool, joining her Swimming Canada teammates. While she goes out with Arckey, who is also the coach of the Canadian national team, she has a long hug with her mother.

Jill has been with Summer every step of the way in her young swimming career. And her family will be in Paris to watch Summer compete for her first Olympic medals.

After rehearsals, McIntosh returns to Sarasota to train for Shark Tank. A couple of days rest and then back in the pool for the final eight week push.

Arckey said he and McIntosh will reflect on the trials before honing in on areas to improve for Paris, where the big 400-meter freestyle showdown with Ledecky and Titmus awaits, along with the other four individual events in which McIntosh qualified. After the tune-up in Sarasota, McIntosh will travel to Normandy for a test camp with her Swimming Canada teammates. Then the Paris Games.

McIntosh has already achieved great results at international events. It’s time to do it in Paris, a chance for the Summer Games to be the games of the summer.

“I know I can go faster,” Summer McIntosh says of her 400-meter freestyle. McIntosh, Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky combined for the 26 fastest times ever in the event. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

GO DEEPER

Summer McIntosh, at 17, has everyone’s attention. Now she’s aiming for Olympic glory

(Top illustration: Daniel Goldfarb / Atletico; photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)