Earlier this month, Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh made the rounds on the web once again when she won the 400 m freestyle at the US Open in North Carolina and set a new record. Catching wind of her achievement, one tennis legend, Billie Jean King, congratulated McIntosh on X (formerly Twitter).
McIntosh back in breaking records
It’s evident how skilled a swimmer 17-year-old Summer McIntosh is from just a glance at her records and titles. McIntosh has been breaking records in the aquatics world since 2021, and at such a young age, she has experienced success and international recognition.
She was Canada’s youngest Olympian at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the youngest World Aquatics champion in over 10 years, and the first Canadian to win two gold medals (200 m butterfly and 400 m individual medley) at FINA World Championship.
And back to compete on a foreign stage, the teen swimming sensation proved that she’s far from done dominating the sport.
At the 2023 US Open Swimming Championships, McIntosh outperformed the Seven-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Katie Ledecky.
McIntosh immediately took hold of the reigns in the beginning stages of the competition, outswimming Ledecky by a mere 0.34 seconds in the first 100 meters. Although this was a fairly close gap, McIntosh refused to relinquish her lead until the end. By the last lap, McIntosh had now expanded the gap between her and Ledecky by as much as two seconds.
McIntosh finished the competition in an astonishing time of 3:59.42, breaking Ledecky’s previous record of 3:59.71, to win the gold medal. Ledecky, on the other hand, finished 2.96 seconds later and finished with a record of 4:03.38. In third place was Siobhan Haughey, who finished with a record of 4:06.32.
McIntosh’s feat earns a nod from BJK
Not one to miss iconic moments, Billie Jean King took to her social media to pen a much-deserved congratulatory message to McIntosh.
“History was made in the pool this past weekend. Cheers to Summer McIntosh, who won the 400m freestyle at the U.S. Open with a lightening fast time of 3:59.42.
Her time beat the previous U.S. Open meet record of 3:59.71.”- Billie Jean King
History was made in the pool this past weekend.
Cheers to Summer McIntosh, who won the 400m freestyle at the U.S. Open with a lightening fast time of 3:59.42.
Her time beat the previous U.S. Open meet record of 3:59.71. https://t.co/HoJnRF7cRr
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) December 5, 2023
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