Canadian Trials: Summer McIntosh Caps Meet with 400 IM World Record 4:23.65
Summer McIntosh’s final tally from five days of racing at 2025 Bell Canadian Trials will go down in history.
World records in the 200 individual medley and 400 freestyle. Canadian records that narrowly missed world records in the 800 free and 200 butterfly.
And Wednesday, lowering her world record in the 400 IM.
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McIntosh clipped seven tenths off her mark from 2024 by going 4:23.65. Her previous record from Canadian Olympic Trials in 2024 was 4:24.38. McIntosh is the reigning Olympic champion in the event.
“Going into tonight, I knew could do something special, just because this meet has probably been the best meet of my career,” McIntosh told the CBC broadcast. “I was really excited to finish off with probably one of my favorite events and the hardest event. It’s good practice for Worlds since it’ll be on the last day. Overall, happy with the time.”
Splits from those three swims:
- McIntosh, 2025: 59.18 – 1:06.13 – 1:18.02 – 1:00.32 – 4:23.65
- McIntosh, 2024 Olympic Trials: 59.18 – 1:07.12 – 1:17.13 – 1:00.95 – 4:24.38
- McIntosh, Paris Olympics: 58.50 – 1:07.09 – 1:19.36 – 1:02.76 – 4:27.71
McIntosh went out a little too quick at the Paris Olympics and didn’t have the legs coming home. Much as she’s worked on breaststroke, backstroke was the big change. She took a second off that split Wednesday, and she called out her final 25 meters of breaststroke as a weakness. (“I felt like I was strong throughout other than the last 25 of breaststroke,” she said.)
“I think breaststroke is always something that I’m continuing to work on, and it’s definitely still a work in progress,” McIntosh said. “But I think backstroke as well is something that sometimes is overlooked by people. I have a really good backstroke, and I’ve really used that in my IM to continue to lower my time.”
McIntosh started the penultimate night at Saanich Commonwealth Place by leading four Canadians under the Worlds standard. Mary-Sophie Harvey went 4:35.56 to book a fourth Worlds swim, joining the 200 breast and 200 IM and with the 200 free still come on the final day Thursday. Ella Jansen finished third in 4:39.30.
For McIntosh, it caps an unbelievable meet. She started with a world record in the 400 free on Saturday. She pushed Katie Ledecky’s 800 free record with the third-fastest time in history on Sunday. Monday brought the world record in the 200 IM, then Tuesday she nearly took down 2009 super-suited record in the 200 fly.
Instant reaction from 🇨🇦 Summer McIntosh.
Who just broke a third world record in three days. Five Canadian records. And nearly broke to other seemingly untouchable world records.
The 18-year-old Canadian is on a different swimming planet. More from Summer. pic.twitter.com/J5MD8n0s76
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) June 12, 2025
McIntosh is entered in Friday’s 200 freestyle on the final day of the meet but does not sound like she intends to swim it, saying she has a double practice booked for Thursday. Her spot on an 800 free relay at Worlds is well solidified. She is the Canadian record holder in the event.
Men’s 400 individual medley
Make it four Canadians swimming the 4-IM at Worlds. Tristan Jankovics held off a charge by Lorne Wigginton over the last 30 meters, and both were comfortably under the A cut to make it to Singapore.
Jakovics, who swam this event at the Paris Olympics last summer, went 4:13.15. That left him a quarter second ahead of the hard-charging Wiggington.
Eric Brown was second in 4:18.56. Collyn Gagne also broke 4:20.
Men’s 200 backstroke
Ethan Ekk popped a Canadian record, wrestling both it and the win away from Blake Tierney head-to-head. Ekk clocked in at 1:56.54, clipping two tenths off the time that Tierney set last May at Canadian Olympic Trials. It’s also a Canadian junior record for Ekk.
Tierney’s consolation prize was in finally ending a week of near misses by finishing second in 1:57.04. That’s a second under the A cut to get the Worlds for the Paris Olympian.
Tierney led the way at the midway point, a tenth under his Canadian record pace. He was still 0.77 seconds ahead at the last turn. But Ekk came home in 29.56 to Tierney’s 30.83.
Cole Pratt, winner of the 100 back, was third in 1:58.70. Junior swimmer Francis Brennan was fourth in 2:00.08.
Women’s 200 backstroke
Sixteen-year-old Madison Kryger set a best time in the 200 back in the morning by .02 seconds. At night, it was more than 1.5 seconds.
Kryger went from 2:11.42 in the morning to 2:09.88, a top-20 time in the world and getting her a first international meet. Second was Ingrid Wilm, who legged out the long race in 2:10.54, a best time for the Olympian.
The door was wide open, with Olympian Regan Rathwell not in the meet, Kylie Masse not entered in the event and Summer McIntosh scratching out of it. Kryger has swum a lot this week, including up to the 400 free, but she mustered enough in her most available path to Singapore
Third was Delia Lloyd in 2:11.15. Veteran Mabel Zavaros, who passed up on the 400 IM for this after going 2:11.46 in the morning, was only a tenth faster at night, finishing fourth in 2:11.34.
Paraswimming
Nicholas Bennett won the men’s 200 individual medley, the SM14 swimmer going 2:06.36 to edge SM8 swimmer Reid Maxwell. The women’s 200 IM went to SM10 swimmer Jaime Cosgriffe, whose time was 2:35.57. Alyssa Smith was second.
Summer is the true greatest middle distance female swimmer of all time. Just think she just broke her third World Record this week. She would be 17 to 20 meters ahead of the US women who won our world trials in the 400 IM. She just missed by 4 tenths of a second the record supposedly unbreakable, the 200 butterfly. She just missed the 800 free world record. And she isn’t rested and tapered. She broke the World records for both the 400 free and the 200 IM. Unrested!
Scarry thing is at Worlds she will be rested and tapered and will probably swim lead off on the 800 free relay. Could she be the first woman under 1:50 ?