Summer McIntosh held off 400m freestyle podium, Titmus sets new world record
Canadian swimmer, 16, 4th at World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan
Summer McIntosh finished just off the podium in her first final at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
The 16-year-old Canadian swimmer was fourth in the final of the women's 400-metre freestyle on Sunday, won by newly minted world record holder Ariarne Titmus of Australia.
Titmus touched the wall in three minutes 55.38 seconds, eclipsing the mark of 3:56.08 set by McIntosh at Canadian trials in March.
"[Breaking the record] wasn't something that I had my mind on for this meet," Titmus said. "I just wanted to come here and try and swim the way I know I'm capable of. I knew the only way to win, I believed, was to try to take it out [fast] and whoever had as much fight left at the end was going to win it."
Added McIntosh: "The 3:55-low is insane. Huge congrats to Ariarne. It's really inspiring to see others push the boundaries and I'm trying to carry my momentum to see what I can do myself.''
WATCH | McIntosh will use 4th-place swim as 'learning experience':
American Katie Ledecky took silver in a time of 3:58.73, and New Zealand's Erika Fairweather finished with bronze in 3:59.59.
McIntosh, of Toronto, swam to a time of 3:59.94, nearly three seconds off her former world-record time.
''Not every race can be a 10 out of 10," the 2022 world silver medallist told Swimming Canada. "I'll use this as a learning experience heading into the next days and of course towards the [2024 Paris] Olympics."
'Very fast year of swimming'
Ledecky, one of the greatest freestylers in history, sounded content with her race and now looks to the 800 and 1,500 in which she is almost unbeatable. She said the record seemed inevitable.
"I think you could see a world record coming," she said. "Once a couple of people do something more people start doing it. It's been a very fast year of swimming and it was predictable that it will be a really fast field."
Ledecky has almost never gone home from a race in the world championships or Olympics with less than a gold or silver medal. She finished fifth in the 200 meters at the delayed Tokyo Olympics, her only other sub-gold or silver performance.
She entered these worlds with 32 gold or silver medals in the Olympics and worlds.
Australia posted four victories in five finals and two world records.
The women broke the world record in the 4x100 freestyle relay, clocking 3:27.96. The U.S. was second in 3:31.93 and China third in 3:32.40.
Canada, with Maggie Mac Neil of London, Ont., Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivieres, Que., Taylor Ruck of Kelowna, B.C., and McInstosh was seventh in 3:36.62.
The coaches kept reminding me racing is what I do best. I'm just ... trying to have the best time.— Canadian swimmer Taylor Ruck
Katerine Savard of Pont-Rouge, Que., swam in the prelims before giving way to McIntosh while Mac Neil set a 53.77 personal best to lead off the prelim.
Ruck, a four-time Olympic medallist, gave Canada two solid swims in her first competitive races since a broken hand suffered earlier this season.
''I probably surprised myself,'' Ruck said. ''The coaches kept reminding me that racing is what I do best. Right now, I'm just living the moment and trying to have the best time.''
Mac Neil in women's 100m butterfly final
In other action, Mac Neil qualified for the women's 100m butterfly final by finishing second in her semifinal heat and third overall with a time of 56.78.
The reigning Olympic champion in the event sat out her individual events at last year's worlds to give herself some space for her mental health.
"It's always challenging the first day whether it's the Olympics or worlds,'' said Mac Neil, the reigning Olympic champion in the event. "I'm pretty happy with all my swims today and hopefully there's room for improvement.."
Savard was 13th in 58.18, while Harvey ranked 11th in the women's 200 individual medley semifinals.
In the men's 50m butterfly, Josh Liendo of Markham, Ont., and Montreal's Ilya Kharun advanced to the semifinals but did not make the cut for the final.
WATCH | Full coverage of Sunday's swimming finals:
Canada 5th in men's 100m free relay
Australia's men's 4x100 free relay team won gold in 3:10.16, followed by Italy (3:10.49) and the U.S. (3:10.81). They clinched Olympic spots while the remaining times will be ranked against the 2024 world results in Doha to determine the 13 other qualifiers.
Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., Toronto's Javier Acevedo, Ruslan Gaziev and Liendo finished fifth (3:12.05).
Knox, who replaced heat swimmer Edouard Fullum-Huot of Montreal in the final, was in unfamiliar territory as a 4x100 freestyle relay swimmer.
"A big thank you to Eddy for putting us in a solid position this morning. To get the call I was going to be on the final, I knew I had to perform," said Knox, who trains at the High Performance Centre — Ontario. "As a medley swimmer trying to be on this 4x100 relay, I've got a lot of swimmers on my heels and a lot of development to go. I'm just really proud of these guys."
Wigginton, 17, sets Canadian age group mark
Elsewhere, Calgary's Lorne Wigginton clocked a national age group record 4:13.75 in the men's 400 individual medley to rank ninth, one spot short of a berth in the final.
"It hurt a lot more than I've ever felt before," said Wigginton, 17, at least four years younger than those that advanced, including France's Leon Marchand, who set a world record 4:02.50 to win the final. "I enjoyed just being up there with those guys and getting that experience of swimming like this.''
He has lowered his personal best by more than six seconds since this time last year.
''I am there now, and I think that's a massive step towards next year being the Olympic year. I'm trying to get to that standard and I'm so much closer than I was going into it so that's exciting."
Phelps's last individual world record broken
French 22-year-old Leon Marchand has broken Michael Phelps's world record in the men's 400 individual medley in four minutes 2.50 seconds. Phelps set the old record of 4:03.84 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
It was the last individual record Phelps held since retiring for good after the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"That was insane," Marchand said after the race, obliterating Phelps' record by more than a second. "That was one of the most painful things. That was just amazing to do it here. I mean, the time is crazy."
Marchand then added: "The best is yet to come."
Phelps, in Japan to comment for television, presented the gold medal to Marchand. He said Phelps offered a tip, which was to finish his freestyle leg faster.
"He [Phelps] was very impressed by the time," Marchand said. "He was commenting the race. It was pretty cool to see that."
Marchand swims at Arizona State and is coached by Bob Bowman, the coach of the American team at the world championships. He is a potential hometown superstar going into next year's Paris Olympics. He will also be the favourite in the 200 IM.
Marchand said he's prepared for the pressure of next year's Paris Olympics where he is sure to be the face of the French Games.
"I think I can handle the pressure pretty well right now," Marchand said. "It's not perfect and I can get better and I have one year to improve."
In other medal races:
- Sam Short of Australia won the men's 400 in 3:40.68 with silver for Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia (3:40.70) and bronze for Lukas Martens of Germany (3:42.20).
- In the 4x100 men's freestyle relay, Australia took the gold in 3:10.16, with Italy earning the silver (3:10.49) and the United States the bronze (3:10.81).
- In the 4x100 women's freestyle relay, Australia set a world record of 3:27.96 in a dominating win. The United States took second in 3:31.93, while China rounded out the podium with 3:32.40.
The top three finishers in each relay automatically qualified for next summer's Paris Olympics.
With files from The Associated Press
