Summer McIntosh opens up about future races after defeating Katie Ledecky amid back-to-back appearances at World Championships

In a major turn of events, Summer McIntosh defeated Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, currently held in Singapore. McIntosh won her first 400m freestyle World Championship medal by clocking 3:56.26.

The Canadian swimmer was followed by Li Bingjie and her fierce rival Ledecky, who posted 3:58.21 and 3:58.49, respectively. McIntosh was two seconds shy of touching her world record in the event.

McIntosh registered a world record of 3:54.18 at the 2025 Canadian Trials. As soon as she touched the wall, McIntosh walked off the arena to prepare for the 200m IM without even looking at the results.

Following her race, she reflected on her performance, stating she felt strong and in control during the race. Further, she shared her excitement for the 800m freestyle race.

"My goal in the 400m freestyle was just to get my head on the wall first, and then as soon as I touched the wall, I barely looked at my time and then I literally ran off warmed down, and got ready for the 200m IM."

McIntosh added:

"The 400m freestyle was so in control, the entire race and super strong and long and overall it just felt like I had my complete endurance. So I'm really excited for the 800m freestyle later on in the meet, but really, honestly, I'm just trying to take one race at a time and day by day."

Summer McIntosh and Ledecky will again lock horns in the 800m freestyle race, whose preliminary round is scheduled on August 1 with the final round on the following day.

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Summer McIntosh opens up on competing in two events on the same day

Summer McIntosh at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. (Photo by Getty Images)

After the 400m freestyle, Summer McIntosh also competed in the earlier rounds of the 200m IM at the World Championships. She dominated the round with 2:07.39.

The 18-year-old is a world record holder in the 200m IM event. She achieved the feat in Canada by listing 2:05.70 this year. In the same interview with CBC Olympics, when asked about the difficulty in racing two events, she said:

"It was a lot easier than I thought. I'm not just saying that. I felt really strong in the 200m IM and I was able to, you know, not go all in and still go a decent time. So overall, I was really happy with it."

The final round of the 200m IM is scheduled on Monday, July 28, 2025.