Summer Macintosh | The greatest Canadian swimming project

A prodigy, talented, creative … all the qualifiers that can accompany the name Summer McIntosh. At the age of fifteen, the Canadian surpasses some of the greatest swimmers in history at the same age. A crooked way of saying that she too can fall into legend.

Nicholas Richard
Journalism

“We can’t know what the future will hold for Summer McIntosh, but we may have the greatest swimmer in Canadian history ahead of us,” said Benoit Hoot, multiple Paralympic medalist and analyst at Radio Canada. Put the Ontarians in front.

With two world titles, in the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter medley, as well as her silver in the 400-meter freestyle and bronze in the 4 x 200-meter relay, McIntosh has confirmed that she is the most promising swimmer in the world.

Hewitt believes that “she has everything to become a Canadian Katie Ledecky.” who says nothing. Ledecky is the most prolific swimmer in history with 22 world championship medals, including 19 gold, and 9 Olympic medals, including 7 gold, at just 25 years old.

However, McIntosh is faster than the American of the same age.

Last year, who was born a few months after the movie was released the cars It experienced a meteoric rise. Among her feats in the field of arms, performances that already have their place among the most memorable in the history of women’s swimming.

His time in the 400m freestyle at the Canadian Trials was 11^e Date. She set the fastest 400-meter medley in history for athletes 15 and younger with a time of 4:29.12, faster than Yui Ohashi who won Olympic gold in Tokyo. I also swam the fastest 200m swim and butterfly ever for an athlete 15 and younger.

His performances at Worlds caused reactions from all over the swimming world. However, the Macintosh doesn’t seem to care much, not least because she understands that winning or losing, life isn’t just about swimming.

His coach Kevin Thorburn passed away in April 2020. Then, in January 2021, his father was diagnosed with cancer. Anything that shakes a little girl still in high school. However, Mackintosh kept her cool and beat Benny Oleksiak in the Canadian Trials to qualify for her first Olympics at the age of 14.

Moreover, if Huot predicted that Macintosh might be more successful than the greatest Olympic medalist in the country’s history, it’s because the teenager has already won two medals Oleksiak has yet to win gold in individual events at the World Championships. .

“She hasn’t won any Olympic medals yet, but she has the attitude, the desire, the support and the training,” Hoot said.

golden design

Beyond his results, the Macintosh impresses with his composure, maturity and insatiable desire to do better with each new step. The daughter of Jill Macintosh, a swimmer who represented Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, knows what it takes to succeed. She also knows that she will achieve this by maintaining the smile that she persistently displays before and after each race.

According to Hoot, McIntosh’s recipe for success consists of two components: “unparalleled talent” and “hard work.”

She came to the Toronto Center for High Performance two years ago when she was 13 years old. “Already at the time, coach Ben Tetley told me he had rarely seen anything so special. Hoot remembers that she could have maintained choppy streaks with a very high cadence at such a young age and had such a small physique, next to an Olympic champion like Benny.

McIntosh will have the opportunity to shine at the Paris Games in 2024 and until then she will train with a team of swimmers who can help and inspire her to reach the highest heights. Even if it’s not motivation that the Torontonian lacks.

“There are few athletes who train as hard as she does. There are few athletes who are as willing to climb as high as hers,” Hoot continues.

Weeks like the ones in the world, you’ll get back a lot of them. On the other hand, there will be very few swimmers like her.