Australian swimwear brand Funkita is proud to announce a major sponsorship deal with young Canadian swimming prodigy Summer McIntosh on her journey towards the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The 15-year-old Toronto swimmer was the youngest Olympian for Team Canada in Tokyo, finishing fourth in the 400m freestyle in a new Canadian record time. Since then, she has continued her extraordinary trajectory up the global swimming ranks posting remarkable times that firmly establish her among the world’s best.
McIntosh has accumulated over 50 Canadian age-group records already in her young career. This year alone, her times in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley rank her number one in the world. She set the Commonwealth record in the 400m individual medley becoming the third-fastest woman of all-time in this event. She also broke her own Canadian record in the 400m freestyle. She will represent Canada at the upcoming FINA World Swimming Championships and Commonwealth Games this summer.
Summer McIntosh’s mother, Jill (nee Horstead) competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and won a Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Games bronze medal during her career. McIntosh started competitive swimming at the age of 8 and dreamed of following in her mother’s footsteps to the Olympics after watching the 2016 Canadian Olympic Games Trials from pool deck.
Photo Courtesy: Nikki Ross/Funkita
The relationship between Funkita and the McIntosh family has extended for half a decade. As Jill McIntosh points out, “Summer has loved Funkita since she was 10 years old!” From their office in Australia, Funkita staff, who are keen swimmers themselves, started to notice regular purchases from the McIntosh name and realized a former Canadian Olympian and young up-and-coming star were fans. An alert was set up on the company ordering system to ensure extra goodies were included with the McIntosh orders and the relationship grew from there.
As Funkita Athlete Manager Erika Hellstrom recalls, “We realized Summer must have been fielding proposals from the major brands so it was incredible when she decided to stick with us at Funkita. We have watched and cheered her on for years, so we are so thrilled to be with her through to the Paris Olympic Games.”
The iconic Australian swimwear brand is renowned for supporting emerging swimming talent and future champions. Its colourful swimwear is designed by swimmers for swimmers and has the superior quality essential for daily training. Funkita and Funky Trunks are sold in 50 countries and increasing their global presence while still retaining the integrity and authenticity of a family-run business.
Summer McIntosh was photographed by Nikki Ross in the latest Free2Fly collection by Funkita at the iconic rooftop pool of Hotel X Toronto, a luxury hotel on the waterfront of Lake Ontario.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Funkita. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.