Summer McIntosh added yet another feather in her historic cap on Day 4 of Canadian Swimming trials in Victoria on Tuesday.
The superstar teen from Toronto won the women’s 200-metre butterfly final in a Canadian record time of 2 minutes, 2.26 seconds, giving her the second-best performance in the history of the event behind China’s Liu Zige (2009).
“I actually think I rank this race higher than some of my other ones,” McIntosh told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux after the race.
“I would almost rate it higher than the 200m IM just because I think this world record is the hardest one to get. … Really happy with the 2:02-low. Going into tonight I didn’t know if that was possible.”
WATCH | McIntosh wins women’s 200m butterfly final in Canadian record time:
McIntosh breaks another Canadian record this time in the 200-metre butterfly
Although she was pleased with the performance, McIntosh suggested there’s room for improvement in the event.
“I think my last stroke was just a little bit wonky, so I think I have at least point-one, point-two in that alone. I can definitely find the other little bits and pieces throughout the race,” McIntosh said.
“The fact that I’m knocking on the door on that world record is really, really encouraging because that’s the world record that I never thought I would even come close to.”
Summer McIntosh has given away her stuffy and medal after each world record and Canadian record throughout trials<br><br>Another awesome moment here for these young fans.<br><br>Summer mania has swept across this pool, and around the country. <a href=”https://t.co/7NK4mkDicB”>pic.twitter.com/7NK4mkDicB</a>
The 18-year-old has already taken down the world 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley marks, while setting a Canadian record in the 800m freestyle at this year’s national trials alone.
McIntosh will further look to rewrite history when competing in the women’s 400m individual medley, where she owns the world record, on Wednesday, and the 200m freestyle on the final day of trials Thursday.
McIntosh has scratched the 200m backstroke from her Wednesday schedule after initially being entered.
Seven-time Olympic medallist Penny Oleksiak was fast again on Day 4, winning the women’s 100m freestyle in a sterling time of 54.03.
The prolific 24-year-old’s result met the Aqua A time standard, meaning she will compete in this event at the world championship in Singapore.
“I’m excited to be done this race. I’m happy that it’s over,” she laughed.
Stacking quality performances together on consecutive nights, Oleksiak will also compete in the women’s 50m freestyle at worlds after winning that event on Day 3 of trials.
As Oleksiak continues working her way back from multiple surgeries that limited her ability to train and compete, Tuesday’s result inches her closer to her own Canadian record of 52.59, set at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Another swimmer advancing to the world championships, which will be held from July 27-Aug. 3., will be Ruslan Gaziev.
Back from an 18-month suspension for a whereabouts failure, the 25-year-old who resides in Toronto posted a time of 48.37 in the men’s 100m freestyle.
That figure meets the secondary standard time required to secure his place in Singapore.
“I started training again at the beginning of April … as things started to progress and my training was pretty good, I started to increase my expectations a little bit,” Gaziev said.
After spending 12 months away from the pool, Gaziev expressed gratitude for the opportunity to return to his passion and the perspective gained in the time away from the sport.
“Not being able to do what I love just made me so grateful when I came back, and made me realize that you can’t take this stuff for granted,” Gaziev said.
Ilya Kharun of Montreal cruised to victory in the men’s 200m butterfly final in a time of 1:53.41, narrowly falling short of his own Canadian record time of 1:52.80 set at the Paris Games in 2024.
The 20-year-old’s result on Tuesday night is the second-best men’s 200m butterfly time in the world this year.
Kharun continues his strong showing at trials after he swam to victory in the men’s 100m butterfly on Sunday.
