Summer McIntosh breaks women’s 200m butterfly world record at Canadian swim trials

Summer McIntosh broke the world record in the women’s 200-metre butterfly at the Canadian swim trials Sunday night in Montreal.

McIntosh touched the wall in two minutes 1.65 seconds, and was understandably emotional after the race. 

“As you can see with my emotions this is the absolute world [to me],” The 19-year-old Toronto phenom she told Alex Despatie. “I’m in shock right now.”

McIntosh now owns four world records, but this is the one she’ll cherish the most.

Her mother, Jill, competed in this event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. 

She also broke the oldest record left in swimming, a mark that was set by China’s Liu Zie in 2009 in what was known as the supersuit era.

Canada’s Summer McIntosh breaks 200-metre butterfly world record time at Canadian Swimming Trials

A triple gold medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, McIntosh turned in a performance for the ages at the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria last summer. She won all five of her events and becoming the first swimmer to break three individual world records at the same meet since Michael Phelps during his legendary eight-gold-medal performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

McIntosh’s feat is even more impressive when you recall the details. Over a span of just five days, the then 18-year-old seized the 400-metre freestyle world record from reigning Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus, lowered her own record in the women’s 400m individual medley by about three quarters of a second, and broke nine-time world champion Katinka Hosszu’s decade-old mark in the 200m IM.

She followed up that showing with a five-medal haul at the world championships, claiming four gold and one bronze in Singapore.

Swimming Trials Preview: Summer McIntosh sched overview, fly vacancy, Rivard & Routliffe return

McIntosh is only getting started as she’s competing in the 400 individual medley on Monday, the 400 freestyle on Tuesday and the 200 IM on Wednesday.

You can watch the entire Canadian swimming trials live on CBC Gem and the CBC Sports website from Sunday through Thursday. Preliminary races begin at 9:30 a.m. ET and the finals at 5:30 p.m. ET each day. Here’s the full schedule and results.