Summer McIntosh, the current world record-holder in the women’s 400-meter freestyle event, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the A final at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships held in Irvine, California. Despite being in a good position to secure a second-place finish in the morning heat behind Australia’s Lani Pallister, McIntosh was edged out and ended up placing third, ranking ninth overall with a time of 4 minutes 8.56 seconds, which was 14 seconds slower than her record-breaking time. China’s 15-year-old swimmer, Fan Yaqi, secured the final spot for the A final at 10:07 p.m. ET with a time of 4:08.36.
McIntosh, a 19-year-old rising star from Toronto, acknowledged her misjudgment in the morning heats and expressed her gratitude for the support she received. She and her teammate, Ella Cosgrove, who finished 13th overall, will be competing in the B final at 10:01 p.m. The live stream of the event can be accessed on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
In June, McIntosh set a new record of 3:54.18 at the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria, surpassing the previous mark set by the retired Ariarne Titmus of Australia. The anticipated A final at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center was expected to be 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.
During her debut at the Pan Pacific Championships, McIntosh claimed a silver medal in the women’s 200-meter freestyle, finishing second to Pallister. She followed this up with two more medals, breaking the championship record in the 400-meter individual medley and contributing to a bronze medal win in the women’s 200-meter freestyle relay alongside her teammates.
Up next for McIntosh is the 200-meter individual medley event scheduled for Saturday. Her journey at the championships has been a mix of highs and lows, but she remains determined to give her best performance.