Toronto native Summer McIntosh commenced her Pan Pacific Swimming Championships campaign by securing second place in the women’s 200-metre freestyle in Irvine, California. The 19-year-old newcomer to the event finished with a time of 1:53.86, coming in just behind Australia’s Lani Pallister, who set a championship record at 1:53.67. Erika Fairweather of New Zealand claimed the third spot with a time of 1:55.05 at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.
McIntosh expressed disappointment, feeling she could have performed better, stating that she wasn’t fast enough at the start and struggled with her turns. She remains optimistic about her future performances, aiming to improve towards achieving her goal of winning in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
During the race, Pallister initially led McIntosh by a slight margin, but McIntosh took the lead at the halfway mark. However, Pallister managed to reclaim the lead towards the end of the race. McIntosh mentioned that she had not competed in the 200 free internationally since the 2023 world championships.
In addition to the 200 free, McIntosh will also participate in the 200 individual medley, 400 free, and 400 IM in Irvine. She qualified for the 200 free final with a time of 1:55.85, aiming to beat the world record set by Titmus. McIntosh currently holds four individual long-course world records in various events.
In the men’s 100m backstroke, Blake Tierney from Saskatoon secured the top spot with a time of 53.18 seconds, winning his first international gold medal. Tierney expressed satisfaction with his performance but believes there is room for improvement in his future races.
Taylor Ruck from Kelowna earned a bronze medal in the women’s 50m butterfly, setting a Canadian record with a time of 25.23 seconds. She later added another bronze in the 100m backstroke final. Ruck expressed satisfaction with her performance and credited her coach for helping her channel her energy effectively.
To conclude the day, the Canadian 4×100 medley relay team, consisting of Ruck, Ingrid Wilm, Oliver Dawson, and Finlay Knox, secured a bronze medal with a final time of 3:43.22. The United States team clinched gold with a world-record time, followed by Australia in second place.