Summer McIntosh is a Canadian competitive swimmer renowned for her dominance in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events.
Born on August 18, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, she has emerged as one of the most prodigious talents in the sport, capturing global attention at a remarkably young age.
The daughter of former Olympic swimmer Jill Horstead and athlete Greg McIntosh, Summer grew up in an environment steeped in athletic excellence, which fueled her early passion for swimming.
Her breakthrough came as a teenager, when she became the youngest member of Canada’s Olympic team at just 14 years old.
Known for her technical precision, mental resilience, and relentless work ethic, McIntosh has shattered numerous records and redefined expectations for young athletes in the pool.
Siblings
Summer shares a close bond with her older sister, Brooke McIntosh, who is a talented figure skater pursuing her own path in elite sports.
Brooke, born a few years before Summer, initially showed exceptional promise in swimming, with their mother Jill noting that Brooke may have even been the faster swimmer of the two during their early years.
However, Brooke ultimately gravitated toward the ice, discovering her true calling in pairs figure skating.
Representing Canada, she competed at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, where she finished fourth alongside partner Brandon Toste.
Brooke continued to build her career, earning bronze at the 2022 World Junior Championships with Benjamin Mimar and setting Canadian records in the process.
More recently, she switched allegiances to represent Spain with new partner Marco Zandron, securing gold at the 2025 Spanish Nationals.
Career
McIntosh began training seriously at age 10 under coach Ryan Cochrane in Toronto, quickly outpacing her peers and earning spots on national youth teams.
Her international debut arrived at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where, as the youngest athlete on Team Canada at 14, she broke the Canadian record in the 400-meter freestyle preliminaries and finished a close fourth in the final, signaling her potential on the biggest stage.
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The following year, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she claimed two gold medals in the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter individual medley, along with silvers in the 400-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley, helping Canada top the medal table in women’s swimming.
That summer’s World Aquatics Championships in Budapest marked her arrival as a global force: still just 15, she became the youngest world champion in over a decade, winning gold in the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter individual medley while setting world junior records.
In 2023, McIntosh elevated her game further at the Canadian Trials, shattering world records in the 400-meter freestyle (3:56.08) and 400-meter individual medley (4:25.87), becoming the first swimmer to hold both simultaneously since 1984.
At the Fukuoka Worlds, she defended her titles in the 200-meter butterfly and 400-meter individual medley, adding bronzes in the 200-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter freestyle relay for a total of four medals.
Preparing for Paris 2024, she made headlines by defeating Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle for the first time since 2010.
At those Olympics, McIntosh delivered a historic haul: silver in the 400-meter freestyle, gold in the 400-meter individual medley (by over five seconds), an Olympic record-breaking gold in the 200-meter butterfly, and gold in the 200-meter individual medley, tying Penny Oleksiak for the most medals by a Canadian at a single Summer Games.
In 2025, she skipped the long-course Worlds to focus on short-course events in Budapest, where she broke three world records in the 400-meter freestyle, 200-meter butterfly, and 400-meter individual medley en route to three golds.
At the Singapore long-course Worlds, she won four individual golds (400-meter freestyle, 200-meter individual medley, 200-meter butterfly, and 400-meter individual medley) plus bronze in the 800-meter freestyle, becoming the second woman to claim four individual golds at a single Worlds and the third swimmer overall to secure five individual medals there.
Now training with the Sarasota Sharks in Florida under coach Brent Arckey, McIntosh continues to evolve, blending her signature versatility with a fierce competitive edge.
Accolades
McIntosh boasts three Olympic gold medals and one silver from Paris 2024, where her three individual golds made her the first Canadian woman to achieve that feat at a single Games and the first swimmer to medal in three individual events there.
At the World Aquatics Championships, she has amassed eight long-course golds—four from Fukuoka 2023 and four from Singapore 2025—plus four silvers and three bronzes, holding the record for most individual golds by a Canadian woman.
In short-course Worlds, she claimed three golds in Budapest 2024, each accompanied by world records.
Her world records span six events, including the 400-meter freestyle (3:56.08), 400-meter individual medley (4:23.65, the four fastest times ever), 200-meter butterfly, and others set in 2025.
McIntosh also secured two Commonwealth Games golds in 2022, and she was named Canada’s Closing Ceremony flag bearer at Paris 2024.
Beyond medals, she has been dubbed the “third-best female swimmer in the world” by Swimming World magazine in 2022 and featured in Time’s “Summer of Summer” coverage for her Olympic dominance.
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