Canadian 14-Year-Old Summer McIntosh Blasts 4:05 in 400 Freestyle
The scene was the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and a 15-year-old wowed the crowd in Omaha. In addition to qualifying for that summer’s Olympic Games in London, where she would go on to win gold in the 800-meter freestyle, this youngster just missed qualifying for the Olympics in the 400 freestyle, a third-place finish producing a time of 4:05.00.
Of course, the aforementioned athlete is Katie Ledecky, and all she has done is establish herself as – perhaps – the greatest female performer the sport has ever seen. Now, Canada has a teenager following a similar performance arc during an Olympic year, with 14-year-old Summer McIntosh clocking a time of 4:05.13 in the 400 freestyle during Thursday competition at the Toronto High-Performance Center Test Event.
Ahead of the Canadian Olympic Trials, which are set for next month, McIntosh is opening eyes around the world. Last month, she went 1:57.65 in the 200 freestyle and 16:15.19 in the 1500 freestyle. However, her 4:05 from Thursday in the 400 freestyle marked a 10-second drop from her personal best, evidence of the rapid improvements that can be seen in young teenage phenoms.
With impressive range from the 200 through the 1500, McIntosh is in position to be a key contributor to Canada at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Her performance of 4:05 at this point in the season, coupled with her improvement curve, suggests something faster is around the corner and contention at the Olympics is not out of the question.
McIntosh will race the 800 freestyle on Friday night, and that event will provide another indicator of where the teen stands a little less than two months out from the Tokyo Olympics. In addition to McIntosh, there were several other impressive performances at the Toronto Test Event.