(Fukuoka) Canada’s Summer McIntosh won the 200m butterfly at the World Aquatic Championships on Thursday, defending her title won last year in the event.
The 16-year-old Torontonian completed the test in two minutes and 4.06 seconds, beating Australian Elizabeth Dekkers (2:05.46) and American Regan Smith (2:06.58) at the wall.
His time allowed him to set a new junior record, as well as a new Canadian record in this event. She also won gold in the 200m butterfly at the Worlds in Budapest, Hungary, last year.
She thus became the second Canadian to have successfully defended a world championship title, and the second to have three career gold medals to her credit, two feats accomplished by Kylie Masse before her.
Additionally, it was McIntosh’s second medal at the World Aquatics. She had won bronze in the 200 freestyle on Wednesday.
“Tonight I wanted to see how far I could push my limits and how hard I could hold on in the second half [of the event],” explained McIntosh, who won by a good length.
It would be unfair to say that McIntosh’s first two races were disappointing; she nevertheless ceded her world record in the 400m freestyle to Australian Ariarne Titmus.
Canada has now won at least one gold medal in four consecutive editions of the World Aquatics.
In addition, Maple Leaf swimmers have now won a medal of each color this week. On Monday, Margaret MacNeil of London, Ont., won silver in the 100 butterfly.
Meanwhile, Masse, of Lasalle, Ont., finished off the podium in the 50 backstroke in 27.28 seconds. Australian Kaylee McKeown triumphed in 27.08, ahead of Smith (27.11) and Britain’s Lauren Cox (27.20).
“The 50m is always a challenge, because it’s a very tight competition. It’s still my fastest time this year, so I’m happy,” she said.
Ingrid Wilm (27.41) of Calgary was sixth.
In the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay, Australia set a record time of 7:37.50 to claim gold. The Americans came in second with a time of 7:41.38, and China completed the podium with a time of 7:44.40.
The Canadian relay, made up of Quebecer Mary-Sophie Harvey, McIntosh, Emma O’Croinin and Brooklyn Douthwright, took fifth place.
“It was a good experience,” Harvey said. This is good practice for next year. I think it’s just about keeping your cool and finding the best way to swim. »
It should be noted that Katerine Savard, from Pont-Rouge, swam during the preliminary stages of the 4×200 freestyle.
The medal-winning teams have qualified for the Paris Olympics in 2024, while the remaining 13 places will be determined by comparing times from Worlds in Fukuoka to those in Doha in 2024.
Finally, Manitoba’s Kelsey Wog clocked 2:24.16 in the semifinals of the 200 breaststroke, which allowed her to qualify for the final scheduled for Friday.
