Canadian swim prodigy Summer McIntosh secured her fourth gold medal at the world championships in Singapore by triumphing in the women’s 400-meter individual medley. The 18-year-old Toronto native smashed her own championship record, clocking in at four minutes and 25.78 seconds in the final on Sunday.
McIntosh’s outstanding performance left Australia’s Jenna Forrester and Japan’s Mio Narita tying for silver, trailing McIntosh by 7.5 seconds. China’s 12-year-old sensation, Yu Zidi, claimed fourth place with a time of 4:33.76.
Setting a new personal best, McIntosh bettered her previous record from the 2023 worlds in Fukuoka, Japan, by shaving off 1.3 seconds. Her exceptional week also included victories in the 400m freestyle, 200m medley, and 200m butterfly, along with a bronze in the 800m freestyle.
McIntosh made history as only the second woman ever to win four solo titles at a single long-course worlds, following in the footsteps of American legend Katie Ledecky in 2015. Although missing the opportunity to match Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to claim five golds, McIntosh expressed pride in her achievement, emphasizing the value of the lessons learned from the event.
With a world title in the 400m medley in 2022 and 2023, McIntosh holds the Olympic champion and world-record holder titles, having set a time of 4:23.65 at the Canadian trials in June. Her total career world-championship medal count now stands at 13, comprising eight gold, one silver, and four bronze medals.
In the men’s 4x100m medley relay, Canadian swimmers Blake Tierney, Oliver Dawson, Ilya Kharun, and Josh Liendo clinched fifth place, breaking the national record for the second time in a single day. The team expressed optimism for future competitions, aiming for success at the 2028 Olympics.
Additionally, Montreal’s Simone Leathead secured her first career world medal with a silver in the women’s 20-meter high dive. The United States topped the swimming medal table with nine gold medals and 29 overall, followed by Australia with eight gold and 20 total medals. France and Canada also made their mark with four gold medals each.
The world championships also saw standout performances from other athletes, including Kliment Kolesnikov of the Neutral Athletes winning the men’s 50 backstroke, Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania claiming the 50 breaststroke, and Meg Harris of Australia dominating the women’s 50 free. Ahmed Jaouadi of Tunisia and France’s Leon Marchand also secured victories in the 1,500-meter freestyle and 400 IM, respectively.