Summer McIntosh, Regan Smith Meet Again in 200 Fly in Westmont
As she blossomed from 14-year-old prodigy to 18-year-old World Swimmer of the Year, Summer McIntosh exerted dominance over two events. She became the world-record holder in the 400 IM while winning a pair of world titles plus Olympic gold, and she has grabbed the same golden trifecta in the 200 butterfly, missing only the world record. In the Olympic final, she swam a time of 2:03.03 to become history’s No. 2 performer, behind only the otherworldly world record belonging to China’s Liu Zige.
McIntosh needed every bit of that Olympic-record performance in Paris as Regan Smith never backed down, blasting off the final turn to put a scare into McIntosh. Smith recorded a best time of 2:03.84, jumping Tokyo Olympic champion Zhang Yufei for No. 4 all-time. The medal was Smith’s second consecutive Olympic silver in the 200 fly and one of her three individual silvers and five total medals at the Games.
The two swimmers raced again at the Short Course World Championships in December and again went 1-2, although Smith was less competitive this time as she had just taken gold in the 50 backstroke. In the butterfly event, Smith managed a national-record time of 2:01.00 and became the fourth-fastest woman ever while McIntosh took down a decade-old world record with her mark of 1:59.32.
Only in short course yards is Smith ahead of McIntosh on the all-time list. Smith is the only swimmer to ever crack 1:48, with her American and U.S. Open records standing at 1:48.33, while McIntosh’s brief experience in the format during her time with the Sarasota Sharks has led her to a top time of 1:51.40, good for No. 18 all-time.
Neither woman has contested the long course version of the 200 fly since the Olympic final, but that drought ends Thursday at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmont, Ill. McIntosh is entered in only her Olympic-gold-medal events this weekend, with the individual medley events to come, while Smith has the 50 back prior to the 200 fly and then the 200 free, 100 fly and the two longer backstroke events later in the meet.
There’s no reason to expect anything remarkable from either woman at this point in the season, but very little would change the thinking that this duo sits comfortably ahead of the rest of the world entering the summer 2025 championship season. The only other active swimmer to crack 2:05 is Zhang, and she has not done that since 2021. Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers is also considered a prime contender in the event, but her best time is 2:05.20.
The landscape of the 200 fly is representative of the plight Smith faces: She’s just as elite in the 200 fly as she is in the backstroke events, but here she’s consistently up against a future all-time great in McIntosh, just as Australian Kaylee McKeown is a hall-of-fame obstacle in the 100 and 200 back. On the flip side, if McIntosh wants to maintain her superiority in the 200 fly moving forward, Smith will remain a tough competitor in her way.
