Summer McIntosh Fires No. 3 All-Time 800 Free in 8:05.07
Summer McIntosh followed Saturday night’s world record in the 400 free with a run at Katie Ledecky’s standard in the 800 free, getting within a second.
McIntosh went 8:05.07 at Bell Canadian Swimming Trials Sunday night in Victoria, British Columbia. It’s a Canadian record and the No. 3 performance all-time. It’s No. 2 this year to Ledecky’s improvement of her world record to 8:04.12 in Fort Lauderdale.
The splits from those races:
- McIntosh, 2025: 27.65 – 30.14 – 30.26 – 30.27 – 30.45 – 30.79 – 30.70 – 30.91 – 30.55 – 30.78 – 30.85 – 30.91 – 30.51 – 30.70 – 30.26 – 29.34 – 8:05.07
- Katie Ledecky, 2025: 27.58 – 29.90 – 30.01 – 30.80 – 30.67 – 31.03 – 30.70 – 31.00 – 30.47 – 30.74 – 30.50 – 30.78 – 30.43 – 30.67 – 30.29 – 28.46 – 8:04.12
McIntosh was under the record pace most of the way. She never went slower than 31.0. Ledecky’s record swim went out faster for the first 150, but McIntosh erased that deficit with just her fourth 50. From there she was ahead of the pace. Ledecky turned it on a little quicker in the second 400 meters of the race, but McIntosh maintained the pace.
Ultimately, the difference was the 28.46 that Ledecky roared home in, a miler’s punch on the final 50. McIntosh turned for home at 7:53.73, just .07 off the pace. McIntosh split 29.34, expectedly her second fastest 50 of the race but not quite the speed that Ledecky summoned in her record-breaking swim.
Unlike Saturday night, when McIntosh was enthused and even surprised by the world record in the 400 free, she evinced a note of disappointment in an interview with CBC Sports Sunday.
“Going into tonight, I really wanted to see how close I could get to that world record,” McIntosh said. “But overall, pretty happy with my race. I think I’ll talk over my splits. I think I was a bit in no man’s land. So I’m excited just moving forward and seeing how I can be pushed when I got some closer racing.”
McIntosh finished 30.65 seconds ahead of runner-up Ella Crosgrove.
McIntosh had been the No. 2 performer in the world this year with the 8:09.86 that she turned in at the Southern Zone Sectionals in February. That was the Canadian record that McIntosh lowered. She has swum this event sparingly, with the last major meet at which she swam the 800 being the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when she was 14 years old. (She went 8:25.04 in finishing 11th.) Sunday was just the fourth time she’s raced it since then.
Ledecky had held the 11 fastest times in history, 19 of the top 20 and 24 of the top 26.
McIntosh won three gold medals and four total medals at the Paris Olympics. She entered this summer looking for a fifth individual event to add to the mix at Worlds, and the 800 free looks like a contender. McIntosh didn’t tip her hand Sunday despite the performance.
“Anytime I get to race Katie, it’s an honor,” McIntosh said. “And I always have to bring my best to be able to challenge her. So yeah, I’m really excited for our matchups at Worlds and things like that, so we’ll have to see. But overall, this is my starting point now, and just trying to keep pushing forward. Overall, so happy because it is a PB, but always trying to be better and better.”
