Summer McIntosh breaks women's 200m butterfly world record at Canadian trials
The 19-year-old Toronto swimmer clocked 2:01.65 on Sunday, surpassing China's Liu Zige's 2009 record. McIntosh now holds three world records and is being hailed as a generational talent.
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Nineteen-year-old Toronto swimmer Summer McIntosh broke the women's 200m butterfly world record on Sunday at the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials, clocking 2:01.65 to surpass China's Liu Zige's 2009 time of 2:01.81.
McIntosh, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, now holds three world records: the 200m butterfly, the 400m individual medley (4:24.38), and the 400m freestyle (3:56.08). "This is something that I've been working on for a really long time," McIntosh said after the race. "I didn't know if that was possible for me."
Dr. Joe Baker, the Tanenbaum Research Chair in Sports Science, Data Modeling and Sport Analytics at the University of Toronto, described McIntosh as a "generational talent" whose achievement further cements her trajectory. Baker cautioned against direct comparisons to male swimmers like Michael Phelps, noting that women's sport historically receives less support and attention.
