It’s Summer time, as McIntosh aims to rule World Aquatics C’ships in Singapore

SINGAPORE – Sprint events like the 50m freestyle and butterfly are usually the hottest events to watch at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH), but the spotlight in Singapore will also be focused on the distance races this time.

The women’s 800m freestyle is set to be the most highly anticipated showdown in the WCH Arena, with American legend Katie Ledecky to face Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh in the race for supremacy.

Before 2024, Ledecky owned all the 20 fastest times in the event, including the world-leading 8min 4.12sec set in April. The 28-year-old is also the most decorated female swimmer in history with 14 Olympic medals – nine of them gold – and 21 world championship titles.

But the rise of McIntosh has changed all that.

The 18-year-old has decided to take Ledecky head-on in the latter’s pet event at the championships, and with her coach Fred Vergnoux proclaiming she can “go under eight minutes... no question”, the stage is set for a fierce battle in the pool.

In a Zoom interview with global media on July 9, McIntosh said: “Any time I get a race with Katie, it’s lots of fun. I learnt so much about myself, and I think we bring the best out of each other, for sure.”

The Canadian teenager first swam the 800m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she was 11th in 8:25.04 at age 14. She went on to significantly improve her time in 2023, clocking 8:20.19 at a US southern zone meet.

Then came some huge improvements – she lowered her personal best to 8:11.39 at the 2024 southern zone meet, handing Ledecky her first loss in an 800m freestyle final in 13 years. The youngster then lowered it to 8:09.86 in February, before posting 8:05.07 at the Canadian trials in June.

The latest result was the third-fastest time ever, giving her belief as she made the 800m free her fifth individual event for the WCH.

She said “I’m just excited to see how I manage doing five events, which I’ve never done before on the world level. I did four in Paris, and to add this new challenge this year really kept me motivated.”

Never mind Ledecky, McIntosh is also chasing the feat of another American great – Michael Phelps.

At the Canadian trials, she set world-best times in the 400m freestyle (3:54.18), 200m individual medley (2:05.70) and 400m individual medley (4:23.65). After becoming the first swimmer since Phelps to break three individual world records at a single meet, she received a congratulatory call from the 23-gold Olympic champion, who also owns 26 championship titles.

She also posted the second-fastest time in the 200m butterfly (2:02.26), raising expectations that she could again match Phelps by winning five individual events at a single WCH, and break more world records along the way.

McIntosh, who struck gold in both medleys and the 200m butterfly and a silver in the 400m freestyle at the Paris Olympics, said: “My main goal in Singapore is just to get my hand on the wall first as many times as I can... in doing so we can also come with some world records, hopefully.

“I saw some photos of the Singapore pool getting set up, and it looks super cool and super fast. Any time I get a race in a new pool, it’s always a fun time and a learning experience.”

While both swimmers remain respectful of each other, the rivalry has seemingly sparked new life in Ledecky, whose latest 800m freestyle world record was her first in nine years. She then beat McIntosh over the Canadian’s preferred 400m in May.

Suggesting that a high-octane atmosphere is key to her raising the bar again for the 800m freestyle, she told USA Swimming: “I can’t stop smiling... It’s been so many years in the making to do it tonight. The crowd was amazing tonight, I couldn’t have done it without that.”

With the WCH Arena fast pool matched by a capacity 4,800-strong crowd, other world record holders will also be pushing their limits, even if Hungary’s 200m butterfly king Kristof Milak and Australia’s 200m freestyle queen Ariarne Titmus are missing due to personal reasons, and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom is on maternity leave.

American Gretchen Walsh became the first woman to swim under 55 seconds in the 100 m butterfly with a world record of 54.60 in May, while French star Leon Marchand has returned to racing after recovering from a cracked rib and shoulder issues.

While Marchand won Olympic gold in the 200m breaststroke and butterfly, as well as the 200m and 400m medley, he will focus on the medleys at the WCH to see what magic he can produce.

After he claimed the men’s individual ranking title at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Singapore last November, the 23-year-old said: “I’m in a time when I need to launch myself to get a new motivation after the Olympics, and I think this was perfect, to meet new people, new culture, discover new places and race as fast as possible.”

It remains to be seen if the Americans will be able to go at full tilt after 10 of their swimmers came down with food poisoning during a training camp in Phuket, and were unable to travel to Singapore on July 22 as scheduled. However, USA Swimming confirmed on July 25 that they have since joined the team here.

Swimmers at both ends of the age spectrum will also look to make an impression.

China’s 12-year-old prodigy Yu Zidi is set to swim the 200m and 400m individual medleys and 200m butterfly in Singapore, with her world-class season-best times placing her within medal territory. Meanwhile, Poland’s 33-year-old Katarzyna Wasick – one of few active women to crack 24 seconds in the 50m freestyle – is viewed as a strong title contender, especially with 31-year-old Sjostrom skipping the event.

Asia will also be represented by China’s 100m freestyle world record holder Pan Zhanle, while compatriot Qin Haiyang will look to repeat his historic feat in 2023, when he became the first man to win the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events at a single championships. Qin will also be looking to get over a tumultuous 2024, when he failed to win an individual medal at the Olympics and was accused of infidelity by his fiancee.

World champions Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min will defend their 200m and 400m freestyle titles, while Japanese Tomoyuki Matsushita, 19, aims to challenge Marchand in the medleys.