16-year-old Canadian swimming sensation sets world record at trials

Summer McIntosh made her case for best women’s freestyle swimmer in the world on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old Canadian set a world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle in Toronto. She competed in the Canadian swimming trials at the Pan Am Sports Centre and finished the event with a mark of 3:56.08. She bested Australia’s Ariarne Titmus who set the record last year at 3:56.40.

“Over the past few years I’ve put my life into this,” McIntosh said. “To achieve something like this, it was very unexpected. It was never in my dreams to do this tonight or even a few years ago. This just blows my mind.”

McIntosh was competing in the trials to see who would represent Canada at the world championships in Japan this year as well as the Pan American Games in Chile.

The teen sensation is building momentum for a possible epic performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she could go up against Titmus and American superstar Katie Ledecky.

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McIntosh made her debut at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 when she was just 14.

She has already won gold medals at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

McIntosh was also named the 2022 Swimmer of the Year in Canada last week. She told Swimming Canada that her and her coaches began to focus on distance swimming in the last year with an emphasis on the butterfly and individual medley races.

She added that she is striving to be as perfect in the pool as possible.

“I’m driven to be the best I can be. I don’t know what that is but I love this sport so much. I have so much passion and love for it I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be the best I can be, achieve whatever I can and leave my legacy in my favorite sport,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.