"Katie Ledecky is in her top form this season" - Summer McIntosh reveals why she chose 800m to race at Worlds

Canadian Swimmer Summer McIntosh made her feelings known on targeting Katie Ledecky's events at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships 2025. Ledecky and McIntosh will lock horns against each other in the 400m and 800m freestyle of the competition.

Notably, Ledecky has had the better of McIntosh in this 2025 season and defeated the latter in the 400m freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series in May. However, the 18-year-old defeated Ledecky in the 400m freestyle finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the former ended with a silver medal, pushing Ledecky into third place.

McIntosh has also been in impressive form during the Canadian Swimming Trials and shattered the world record in the 400m free and the meet record in the 800m free. Thereby, it will be interesting to see how she fares with a veteran swimmer like Ledecky in the latter's specializations.

Speaking about her decision, McIntosh said that she chose the 800m free because she wanted to face the tough challenge posed by Ledecky in this event.

"One of the many reasons I picked the 800 [for the worlds] is because in my opinion it is the biggest challenge. Katie is so strong and in her top form this season, so that matchup will be awesome," she said (via CBC).

McIntosh also shared her aspirations for the tournament and said that she wants to put a stunning show in the Worlds.

"I have expectations and goals and that's to get as many golds as possible. A good motivation for me is to put on a show. That's the energy I channel and keep the sport exciting," she added.

Summer McIntosh also remarked during the conversation that the fans have a lot of expectations of her from the event, and she is excited to compete in Singapore. McIntosh and Ledecky will compete against each other in the 400m free on July 27 and in the 800m free on August 1.

Summer McIntosh reflects on her campaign at the Canadian Swimming Trials 2025

Summer Mcintosh (Image via: Getty)

Summer McIntosh reflected on her impressive campaign at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials. Besides shattering the 400m free world record, McIntosh also broke the 400 medley record in this event.

Speaking in an interview regarding the tournament, McIntosh termed this as one of the best meets of her career. The 18-year-old also added that she is trying not to think much about her successes in the meet before the Worlds 2025.

"This is probaby the best meet of my career. So, kind of just take it a few days to process it but not try to spend too much time on it just heading into Worlds," she said (via CBC Sports).

During the interview, Summer McIntosh also remarked that her results in the trials turned out to be much better than she expected and were an "awesome" experience for her.