TORONTO (AP) — Sixteen-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada set a world record Tuesday night in the women’s 400-meter freestyle.
Competing in the Canadian swimming trials at the Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto, McIntosh finished in 3 minutes, 56.08 seconds to break the mark of 3:56.40 set last year by Australia’s Ariarne Titmus.
It was the first long-course world record by a Canadian swimmer since Kylie Masse in the 100 backstroke at the 2017 world championships in Budapest. McIntosh also shaved more than 3 seconds from her previous national record of 3:59.32.
“Over the past few years I’ve put my life into this,” said McIntosh, who finished fourth in the 400 free in her Olympic debut at Tokyo as a 14-year-old. “To achieve something like this, it was very unexpected. It was never in my dreams to do this tonight or even a few years ago. This just blows my mind.”
The Canadian trials are being held to determine the swimmers who will compete at this summer’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, as well as the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
McIntosh’s emergence is setting up one of the most-anticipated showdowns at worlds and next summer’s Paris Olympics.
She’s expected to be matched in the 400 against both Titmus, the reigning Olympic champion, and American star Katie Ledecky, another former world-record holder, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist and defending world champion in the event.
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