Summer McIntosh secured a gold medal in her first-ever victory at the Pan Pacific swimming competition on Thursday night. She triumphed over Australia’s Jenna Forrester in championship record time in the women’s 400-meter individual medley event in Irvine, California. McIntosh completed the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle in 4 minutes and 28.01 seconds, with Forrester trailing nearly three seconds behind for the silver medal. Agostina Hein from Argentina claimed the bronze with a time of 4:32.54. The previous Pan Pacs record of 4:31.99 was held by American Elizabeth Beisel since 2014.
After the race, McIntosh expressed her thoughts to CBC’s Devin Heroux, mentioning that while she believed she could have performed better, she was still pleased to secure the victory for Canada. The Canadian national anthem was met with great excitement from the crowd, particularly a group of enthusiastic children in the stands. McIntosh acknowledged their support and expressed gratitude for being able to entertain and inspire the audience.
In the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay, McIntosh contributed to Canada’s success by propelling the team into third place after two legs. Emma O’Croinin and anchor Brooklyn Douthwright maintained the position, securing the bronze medal for Canada. The Canadian team posted a time of 7:52.74, finishing behind Australia and the United States who claimed the top two spots.
In other events, Tristan Jankovics and Lorne Wigginton of Canada finished 7th and 8th respectively in the men’s 400 IM. Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita set a new championship record while expressing his determination to achieve gold in future competitions. Taylor Ruck from Kelowna, B.C., achieved a fifth-place finish in the women’s 100 free event.
The competition also saw strong performances from Alexanne Lepage and Sophie Angus of the University of Calgary in the women’s 100 breaststroke event. Lepage achieved a personal best time, narrowly missing the Canadian record held by Annamay Pierse. Additionally, various Canadian swimmers achieved notable results in different events, showcasing their talent and competitive spirit at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.