Summer McIntosh Blitzes World Junior Record in 200 Individual Medley At Fort Lauderdale
Three days and three world junior records for Canadian star Summer McIntosh at the TYR Pro Series stop in Fort Lauderdale. Racing at the site of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, McIntosh clocked 2:08.08 in the 200-meter individual medley on Saturday night, an effort that bettered her previous WJR of 2:08.70. The former mark was established last summer at the Commonwealth Games.
“Overall, I am really happy. I haven’t swam the 200 IM since Commonwealths, so I was happy to get back into it and see where I was,” McIntosh said. “This meet I have been .1 or .2 (above a minute mark), so that is frustrating (not breaking the barrier), but it keeps me motivated. This is a big deal for me to be a part of history. Even though I try not to focus on them too much, it is cool to see where I was compared to others in the past.”
During action on Thursday and Friday, respectively, McIntosh set world junior standards in the 200 butterfly and 200 freestyle. Entering the 200 IM, she was a clear threat to add another record to her collection, and add intrigue to the storyline of which events she’ll contest at this summer’s World Championships in Japan, and – more pointedly – at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The top seed in the 200 medley after an easy morning swim of 2:12.01, McIntosh pushed the pace from the outset during the evening session. Opening with a butterfly split of 27.14, the teenager continued to excel on the backstroke leg, going through the midpoint of the race in 59.53. McIntosh made the turn at the 150-meter mark in 1:38.10, following a breaststroke split of 38.57, and she closed with a freestyle split of 29.98.
In addition to the three world junior records she set this weekend, McIntosh also owns the WJR in the 400 individual medley.
