Why Summer McIntosh withdrew from Canadian swim trials days after breaking long-held record

Teenage swimming phenom from Toronto broke 17-year-old world record in 200-metre butterfly on Sunday

Published Jul 07, 2026  •  2 minute read

Summer McIntosh competes in the Women's 200 Meter Individual Medley semifinals during the USA Swimming Pro Swim Series Austin earlier this year. Getty Images

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After feeling on top of the world by breaking another record in the pool, Summer McIntosh apparently is now under the weather.

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On Sunday at the Canadian swimming trials in Montreal, the 19-year-old Toronto native broke the record in the women’s 200-metre butterfly — a mark that had been set two years after she was born.

But on Tuesday, McIntosh announced that she has withdrawn from competition due to an undisclosed illness.

Swimming Canada announced that after consulting with coach Bob Bowman and the organization, McIntosh decided to not compete in the remainder of the trials.

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What did McIntosh say?

“I’m so sorry, but on the advice of my doctors and coach, I’ve made the difficult decision to scratch from my remaining events at the 2026 Canadian Trials,” McIntosh said in a statement. “I started feeling ill (Monday) morning and while I hoped I’d be able to keep racing, this is the right decision.”

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McIntosh added that she was “incredibly grateful” that she got to experience the trials this year, but was disappointed that she couldn’t continue.

“I’m so disappointed that I can’t continue racing in front of these amazing crowds, but my focus now is on getting healthy so I can be ready to represent Canada at the Pan Pacific Championships,” she said.

“Thank you for all the love and support this week. I’m so sorry our time together was cut short and thank you for cheering me and all of the athletes on.”

McIntosh, who won three gold medals and one silver at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, will now focus on training for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, which run Aug. 12-15 in Irvine, Calif.

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What did her coach say?

“Summer came to Montreal with clear performance objectives and she leaves having delivered another memorable moment for Canadian swimming fans,” said John Atkinson, Swimming Canada’s high-performance director and national coach. “After ongoing discussions with Bob, our medical team and Summer, the decision was made with Swimming Canada’s full support that this is the best course of action. This allows her to recover from illness, protect her health and return to training as quickly as possible.

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“It’s never easy for an athlete to step away from competition, but this decision puts her in the strongest position for the remainder of the season, including her final preparations for Pan Pacific Championships.

“We know Canadians were inspired by what she achieved here, especially with her historic world-record performance in the 200-metre butterfly, and we look forward to seeing her back in the pool soon.”

During the preliminary race on Sunday, McIntosh clocked in at 2 minutes 1.65 seconds, lowering the previous world record of 2:01.81, set by China’s Liu Zige in 2009 — the longest-standing women’s long-course world record.

“I would say that’s the one world record that I’ve always dreamed of as a kid,” McIntosh said on Sunday.

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