McIntosh breaks oldest women's swimming world record

McIntosh breaks a 15-year-old mark in the 200m butterfly

Summer McIntosh broke the longest-standing individual women’s swimming world record on Sunday night, clocking 2 minutes 1.65 seconds in the 200-meter butterfly at the Canadian swimming trials in Montreal. The time surpassed the previous mark of 2:01.81, set by China’s Liu Zige in October 2009, by 0.16 seconds. The New York Times reported the swims as the first and second fastest in history.

According to The New York Times, Liu Zige’s record was the longest-standing world record in women’s swimming and had survived the introduction of a ban on polyurethane “super suits” — full-body swimsuits that helped swimmers set more than 100 world records in 2008 and 2009. For 15 years after the ban, no swimmer came within two seconds of her time.

Emotional reaction and poolside context

McIntosh, 19, was visibly emotional after the race, slamming her fists into the water and smiling as the home crowd inside the Olympic pool erupted. Speaking to CBC, McIntosh called it the record she had “always dreamt of as a kid.” “Growing up, this is the one world record I thought I would never break, and to do it tonight is really special in front of a home crowd,” she said. “It means the absolute world, and I’m in shock right now.”

The Washington Post reported that McIntosh was 8.5 seconds ahead of runner-up Mary-Sophie Harvey, and quoted McIntosh saying she realized in the final 50 meters that she was on a record pace because of the noise in the venue. “That really kept me going and motivated me to get to the wall,” she said. CBC noted fans in the stands held signs reading “Fly Summer Fly” and other supportive messages during the race.

Training setup and coaching change

Sunday’s race was the first opportunity for many Canadian fans to see McIntosh compete since her high-profile move to train in Austin, Texas, under Bob Bowman — the coach who guided Michael Phelps to a record 23 Olympic gold medals. The Washington Post reported Bowman’s reaction: “They’re very few and far between, even with swimmers like Summer. It’s hard to get there. It’s fun to see her start the meet off that way.”

Bowman’s move to Texas came as part of his broader program development, following his long tenure at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and stints working with elite swimmers around the world. CBC’s reporting framed McIntosh’s relocation as a key off-field storyline leading into the trials.

The path to the record

McIntosh had been gradually closing on the mark since the Paris Olympics. At the 2024 Games, she won gold in the 200 fly at age 17 with a 2:03.03, then the second-fastest swim in history. She went faster three times last year, including a 2:01.99 at the 2025 world championships in Singapore — 0.18 seconds off the world record, according to The New York Times. The Washington Post also referenced that near-miss as part of McIntosh’s deliberate build toward the mark.

At the 2025 Canadian trials in Victoria, McIntosh set three individual world records over five days — in the 400-meter freestyle, 200-meter individual medley and 400-meter individual medley — becoming, according to CBC, the first swimmer to break three individual world records at a single meet since Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 400 free mark took the record from Australia’s Ariarne Titmus; the 200 IM broke a decade-old mark held by Katinka Hosszú of Hungary.

Family tie and broader career

According to CBC, McIntosh’s mother, Jill, competed in the 200-meter butterfly at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The outlet noted the family connection while contextualizing McIntosh’s relationship with the event. McIntosh has owned the 200 fly on the international stage since the 2022 world championships in Budapest, Hungary, when she was 15 — and won the event again at the 2023 worlds in Japan and the 2025 worlds in Singapore, per The New York Times.

McIntosh left Paris with three gold medals and a silver in the 400-meter freestyle. Her silver came in a tight race with Titmus and American Katie Ledecky. Titmus has since retired; McIntosh and Ledecky later went head-to-head in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2025 worlds in Singapore, with Ledecky winning in one of her signature events. McIntosh now holds four individual long-course world records, per The New York Times: 200 fly, 400 free, 200 IM and 400 IM.

The broader record book

With Zige’s mark gone, the oldest individual women’s world record now belongs to Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström, who set the 50-meter butterfly record in July 2014, according to The New York Times. Four men’s world records still date to the 2008-2009 super-suit era; the oldest is the U.S. men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay mark set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by a team including Michael Phelps.

Trial results and what to watch next

The Canadian trials will set Canada’s team for next month’s Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California — described by The New York Times as “the biggest international meet of the season.” A renewed McIntosh–Ledecky duel is anticipated at that meet. McIntosh is scheduled to contest the 400 IM on Monday, the 400 free on Tuesday and the 200 IM on Wednesday at the trials, per The Washington Post and CBC.

Elsewhere on Day 1 in Montreal, Taylor Ruck of Kelowna, B.C., beat five-time Olympic medallist Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ont., in the women’s 100m backstroke with a personal-best 58.33, followed by Masse (58.87) and Calgary’s Ingrid Wilm (59.21). In the S12 classification, Quebec City’s Nicolas-Guy Turbide set a new Canadian Para swimming record of 1:02.42, according to CBC.

Source notes

The New York Times, The Washington Post and CBC all reported the record-breaking time identically — 2:01.65 — with the figure consistent across coverage. The Times characterized the record as the “longest-standing world record in women’s swimming,” while the Washington Post described it as “the longest-standing individual women’s swimming world record”; CBC used similar language. The Times and Post both quoted McIntosh directly, with minor variations in phrasing. NBC and Reuters were not included in the supplied source set, so any quotes or claims attributed to those outlets have been omitted from this article.