Summer McIntosh, the current world record-holder in the women’s 400-meter freestyle event, fell short of qualifying for the A final at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships held in Irvine, California. During the morning heat, McIntosh was in contention to secure the second position behind Australia’s Lani Pallister but was narrowly out-touched, finishing third and ninth overall with a time of 4 minutes and 8.56 seconds, which was 14 seconds slower than her record-breaking time. Fan Yaqi of China, aged 15, clinched the final spot with a time of 4:08.36 for the evening final at 10:07 p.m. ET.
The 19-year-old Canadian sensation, hailing from Toronto, expressed her intention to compete in the B final scheduled for 10:01 p.m., alongside her teammate Ella Cosgrove, who placed 13th overall. The B final can be streamed live on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. McIntosh took accountability for her performance in the morning heats, acknowledging her misjudgment in an Instagram post, and thanked her supporters for their encouragement.
McIntosh achieved a new record time of 3:54.18 at the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria last June, surpassing the previous record set by the now-retired Ariarne Titmus of Australia in 2023. The highly anticipated A final at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center featured a showdown between American record-holder Katie Ledecky, Lani Pallister, and McIntosh. Ledecky topped the qualifiers with a time of 4:03.48, while Pallister secured the fourth spot with a time of 4:05.22.
In her Pan Pacific debut, McIntosh claimed a silver medal in the women’s 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.86, finishing closely behind Pallister, who set a championship record of 1:53.67. She continued her success by breaking the championship record in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:28.01 and also contributed to Canada’s bronze medal in the women’s 200 freestyle relay alongside Mary-Sophie Harvey, Emma O’Croiniin, and Brooklyn Douthwright. McIntosh is set to compete in the 200 IM event on Saturday.
Following her gold medal win in the women’s 400m individual medley, McIntosh reflected on her performance and expressed gratitude in an interview with CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux.