Canadian swimmers McIntosh, Liendo earn 2nd-place finishes at U.S. Open

Canada's swimming teen sensation Summer McIntosh continues to turn heads on the international stage after taking powerhouse American swimmer Katie Ledecky to the wall Thursday night at the U.S. Open swimming competition in Greensboro, N.C.

McIntosh, 16, was stroke-for-stroke with Ledecky throughout a riveting 400-metre freestyle race. The Canadian fell behind early but mounted a charge and by the time the two swimmers made their turn at the 250m mark, McIntosh had taken a narrow lead. 

But in a last surge in the final 50 metres, Ledecky, like she has many times throughout her career, touched the wall first, just ahead of McIntosh to win gold in the event.

Ledecky finished in three minutes 59.71 seconds while McIntosh was second in 3:59.78, just the third time she has finished under the four-minute mark in the event.

This is clearly shaping up to be a big time battle between two extraordinary swimmers over the next year and a half before Paris 2024. Last month at the World Cup in Toronto in short-course competition, it was McIntosh who edged out Ledecky at the wall in the same event. 

The U.S. Open swimming competition started Wednesday and wraps on Saturday. The event has attracted hundreds of athletes from across the United States including Olympians and world championship swimmers, and a few Canadians.

Josh Liendo, 20, was also locked in an exciting battle as he fnished second in the 50m freestyle behind American was David Curtiss. Curtiss's time of 21.92 seconds was just ahead of Liendo's 21.99. 

Liendo and McIntosh are two emerging stars for the Canadian swimming program. Liendo, from Markham, Ont., won three medals at the world championships and four more medals at the Commonwealth Games this past summer. 

McIntosh, from Toronto, has had a breakout season and is widely regarded as one of the most impressive swimmers in the world right now. 

At the world championships in June, the teen won gold in the 200m butterfly, gold in the 400m individual medley and silver in the 400m freestyle. McIntosh also added bronze to her collection at worlds in the 4x200m freestyle relay. 

Then McIntosh went to the Commonwealth Games and cleaned up, winning six medals including two gold. 

During Tokyo 2020, McIntosh made her Olympic debut at the age of 14 years old.