Swim star Summer McIntosh puts 2028 Olympic goals to test in this week’s Pan Pacific swim championships
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Canadian swimming star Summer McIntosh has been very clear about what her goals are for the Los Angeles Olympics two years from now: five individual gold medals.
Everything she’s been doing over the past year has been geared toward that. This week’s Pan Pacific swimming championships, in the same city she hopes to light up in 2028, will be the first real indicator of where she stands.
As the teen — for only a few more days with her 20th birthday next week — flew in for the meet which begins Wednesday, she was reminded of her expectations for the next Games.
“I literally didn’t have my window open for the entire flight and then as I opened the window, I saw the stadium and I got chills. It was the coolest moment ever. I mean, flying over that stadium, I was just imagining what I hope to do there,” McIntosh said. “Every day I think about L.A. and I’m so excited for it. So to be in California I think is really special. Even just being in the state that the Olympics will be I think is really important.”
McIntosh won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics and catapulted to superstardom in her sport.
She is in a league of her own right now, holding four individual long-course world records in the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, 400m freestyle and 400m individual medley.
Her most recent world record — the 200m fly set at the Canadian trials in Montreal at the beginning of July — was extraordinary as she took down the longest-standing women’s world record, dating back to 2009.
WATCH | McIntosh breaks 200m butterfly world record at Canadian trials:
Toronto’s Summer McIntosh swam to a time of 2:01.65 setting the world record time in the 200-metre butterfly at the Canadian swimming trials in Montreal.
But just a day after that momentous swim, McIntosh pulled out of the trials due to illness. She’s spent the past few weeks recovering and building toward Pan Pacs and says she’s fully healthy again.
“That was really tough because I was coming off such a high and then waking up the next morning really not feeling well,” she said. “After I pulled out of the meet, my goal was just to get back on my feet as fast as possible heading into Pan Pacs, because I knew it would be a quick turnaround. So that’s what I’ve done. I’m feeling great in the water now and I’ve done everything to prevent getting sick again.”
McIntosh is part of a 42-person Canadian team competing at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, an outdoor pool in in Irvine, Calif.
This is the first time McIntosh is competing at the Pan Pacs championships. Usually held ever four years, the 2022 event was cancelled because of scheduling issues presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think this is definitely different from a world championships or Olympics because it’s so short. I’m still doing four rather than five events. So it’s still a lot of racing and it’s gonna be back-to-back sessions. But you know that’s what Bob [Bowman] has prepared us for and training.”
This is the first major international meet McIntosh is competing in under the coaching guidance of Bowman, the legendary U.S. coach she teamed up with last September.
The day after Summer McIntosh broke the 200m fly world record on Day 1 of the 2026 Canadian Swimming Trials, we sat down with her coach Bob Bowman to break down the record and the work she’s ready to put in to be faster.
McIntosh will open with the 200m freestyle, electing not to swim the 200m butterfly on the same night, and then follow up with the 200m individual medley, the 400m freestyle and the 400m individual medley.
This is the first time McIntosh is competing in the 200m freestyle on the international stage since the world championships in 2023.
“I want to get back into the 200 freestyle and get some racing reps in, racing the best in the world. So I’m really excited to kick day one off with the 200 free. Training for 200 freestyle kind of naturally worked into my training schedule on a weekly basis just because I’m a 400m freestyler. So it just kind of matches with my events perfectly, to be honest,” she said.
McIntosh acknowledges she doesn’t fully know where she’ll be in terms of a time in the event, but she’s not ruling out a world record.
“I don’t like to write anything off. I’m kind of curious to see what it’s going to be like. I don’t really know what to expect exactly for myself,” she said. “I don’t know, I haven’t raced it tapered in a very long time. It’s going to be a big night one. And I’m really excited to see what I can throw down.”
All season long both McIntosh and coach Bowman have talked about peaking at the Pan Pacs competition. That time has now arrived and McIntosh seems perfectly placed to once again thrill in the pool.
“It’s been absolutely amazing and one of the best years of my life. And I think this is just going to be the cherry on top, a very big cherry on top, hopefully,” she said.
“I think it’s going to be great. And again, just setting up to L.A., it’s going to be a really quick meet and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. Using the vibes, the crowd and the energy around here and the ambiance, I think it’s going to be amazing.”
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