Summer McIntosh wiped out the last ¡°supersuit¡± world record ?in women¡¯s swimming on Sunday with a stunning victory in the 200-meter butterfly at Canada¡¯s trials for the Pan Pacific Championships.
Olympic and world champion McIntosh ?touched the wall in 2 minutes, 1.65 ?seconds ?in the final in Montreal, eclipsing ?Liu Zige¡¯s long-standing record (2:01.81) at China¡¯s National Games in October 2009.
Liu¡¯s mark was set months before ?polyurethane suits were banned from global competition and was considered ?one of the hardest records to break.
But McIntosh has been chipping away.
The 19-year-old ?became the second woman ?to break 2:02.00 at last year¡¯s world championships and now owns five ?of the ?six fastest times in the event.
¡°As ?you can see my emotions, this means ?the ?absolute world,¡± she said.
¡°Growing up, this is the one world record I thought I would never break and to do it tonight ?is really special in front of a home crowd.
¡°It means the absolute world, and I¡¯m in shock right now.¡±
McIntosh now holds world records in four ?events, ?having claimed the 200- and 400-meter ?individual medley (IM), and 400-meter freestyle marks at last ?year¡¯s Canadian trials.
She will have chances to raise the bar again, starting with the 400 IM on Monday.
With three Olympic gold medals ?at the Paris Games and eight world championships since 2022, McIntosh is hurtling toward greatness in women¡¯s swimming despite still being in her teen years.
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