Summer McIntosh of Toronto, Ontario set the women’s 200 metre individual medley Pro Swim Series record on Saturday. She posted a time of 2:07.16 in winning gold in Knoxville, Tennessee. McIntosh actually broke her own Pro Swim Series record of 2:08.08 that she set last year.
McIntosh’s time of 2:07.16 is also the fastest time in the women’s 200 metre individual medley in the world this season, and the 14th fastest time in history. McIntosh’s best time in the women’s 200m IM took place at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto on March 30, 2023, when she had a time of 2:06.89. That is the sixth best time ever. Katinka Hosszu of Hungary holds the world record in the women’s individual medley with a time of 2:06.12. That was set at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia.
McIntosh won three gold medals in the Knoxville competition. She also won the gold medal in the women’s 200 metre butterfly with a time of 2:05.73 on Thursday and the gold medal in the women’s 200 metre freestyle with a time of 1:55.31 on Friday. You can definitely make the argument that McIntosh is the best 200 metre female swimmer in the world at the moment. McIntosh has the world record at the moment in the women’s 400 metre individual medley. That was set at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials on April 1, 2023 with a time of 4:25.87. McIntosh is the world champion in the women’s 200 metre butterfly and the women’s 400 metre medley.
However, it was another Canadian who won gold in the women’s 400 metre individual medley in Knoxville on Friday, as Tess Cieplucha won gold with a time of 4:41.54. Meanwhile, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil won the silver medal in the women’s butterfly on Friday with a time of 57.18 seconds, only behind American gold medalist Gretchen Walsh, who had a time of 56.78 seconds. When Mac Neil won the gold medal in the women’s 100 metre butterfly at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, she had a winning time of 55.59 seconds. The medals for McIntosh, Cieplucha and Mac Neil will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
