Summer McIntosh breaks women’s 200-metre butterfly world record at Canadian trials

MONTREAL — Summer McIntosh has broken world records before.

This, however, was the one she’d been chasing.

The Canadian swimming sensation set a new standard in the women’s 200-metre butterfly at national trials, clocking two minutes 1.65 seconds to shatter a once-untouchable mark that stood for more than 6,000 days — until Sunday night.

“That was the one world record that I’ve always dreamt of as a kid,” an emotional McIntosh said. “To now do it is really incredible.”

Chinese swimmer Liu Zige’s time of 2:01.81, set in 2009 during what’s known as the super-suit era, was the longest-standing individual women’s record.

McIntosh had long targeted the mark, coming within 0.18 seconds of it at last year’s world championships.

The normally stone-faced swimmer smiled ear-to-ear and slammed her fists into the water in celebration after touching the wall.

Her mom Jill, meanwhile, pumped her fists into the air as the crowd erupted inside the Olympic pool.

“It was a really emotional moment for me,” McIntosh said. “This is something that I’ve been working on for a really long time, and getting so close to it after world championships in Singapore, then it became a possibility.”

McIntosh later wiped tears from her eyes after holding both her parents in a tight hug poolside.

“That world record was Summer’s dream as a 10-year-old,” said Jill McIntosh, an Olympic swimmer at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. “This shows you when you dream bigger than you can possibly imagine, you can get anything done.

“The amount of hard work that has gone into that is incredible but she embraces it and I’m so proud of her.”

Now 19 years old, the Toronto swimmer already holds four long-course world records.

A triple Olympic gold medallist at the Paris 2024 Games, she set three records in five days at last year’s trials in Victoria, lowering times in the 400 freestyle, 400 individual medley and 200 IM.

McIntosh followed that showing with four gold medals and one bronze at the world championships in Singapore, becoming just the second woman to win quadruple gold at a single worlds.

But even with all the accolades, Sunday’s result was “extra special.”

“She always said she liked it because everyone said it was untouchable,” Jill McIntosh said. “That’s why she wanted it so bad.”

“I don’t think you can really imagine what it’s like to live with a world-class athlete and the second-guessing that they go into themselves, even sometimes around, ‘Am I training as hard as I can? Can I accomplish what I want?’” added her dad, Greg.

“It’s not easy. And what she just did put it all to rest.”

Fans dotted the Olympic pool stands with signs supporting Canada’s biggest swimming star, including one that read, “Fly Summer Fly!”

McIntosh broke cleanly from the blocks and built a lead through the opening 100 metres but still trailed Liu by two-tenths of a second.

She then shaved six-tenths off Liu’s split in the next 50 metres, before a roaring crowd sensing history came alive for the final stretch.

“I could tell on the last 50 that I must have been close to the world record just based off how loud the crowd was,” said McIntosh, who finished 8.5 seconds ahead of runner-up Mary-Sophie Harvey.

“That really kept me going and motivated me to get to the wall.”

Sunday was the first opportunity for many Canadian fans to see McIntosh race since her high-profile move last fall to train in Austin, Texas, under renowned coach Bob Bowman, who guided Michael Phelps to a record 23 Olympic gold medals.

The feeling of watching his athletes raise the bar, Bowman said, never gets old.

“It’s always special,” he said. “They’re very few and far between, even with swimmers like Summer. It’s hard to get there.

“It’s fun to see her start the meet off that way. I think she’ll have some other good events as well, so it should be fun.”

McIntosh will also compete in the 400 IM on Monday, the 400 free on Tuesday and the 200 IM on Wednesday ahead of next month’s Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif.

The Montreal venue is hosting the national trials 50 years after holding the swimming competition at the 1976 Olympics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press