How Can Summer McIntosh Break the 200 Butterfly World Record at Canadian Trials?
With the 2026 Canadian Swimming Trials fast approaching, all eyes will be on Summer McIntosh. The 19-year-old currently training at the University of Texas will be swimming her main events at the trials in order to qualify for the Pan Pacific Championships. As the current world-record holder in both individual medley events plus the 400 freestyle, McIntosh will be looking to add at least one more at trials in July.
Splits
McIntosh produced her best time in the 200 fly at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore with a time of 2:01.99, the second-fastest performance in history. The current world record stands at a time of 2:01.81, held by China’s Liu Zige from 2009. McIntosh has come close to that effort a few times, but she needs a further 0.18 to reach the oldest world record in women’s swimming.
When Liu achieved her world record, she was out in 58.0 at the 100-meter mark. McIntosh’s best time saw her go out in 58.4, so she will likely need to go out quicker, possibly even under 58, to get the record.
The concern for McIntosh comes with the final length. Liu found an extra gear on her last 50, splitting 31.8, while McIntosh went 32.0. Of course, Liu was in a polyurethane supersuit, which made finishing an easier task than today. McIntosh has spent the last year training under Bob Bowman, who has guided all-time greats like Michael Phelps and Leon Marchand to excel down the stretch of races. The last 50 will make or break whether McIntosh can crack this historic record. If she can find the extra push like Liu, there is no reason why she can’t find herself in the 2:01-mid range.
In December, she produced a time of 2:02.62, the third-fastest of her career. The last three 50-meter splits looked extremely similar, splitting 31.2-31.8-32.0. Once again, McIntosh faded at slightly the end of the race. But December was a long time ago, and now she has even more time under the training of Bowman, potentially leading to an excellent back half.
Schedule
McIntosh, as usual, will have a loaded schedule at Canadian Trials. She will surely compete in her four main events, the individual medleys plus the 400 free and 200 fly. The 200 free and 800 free would be others that could be a possibility. The 200 fly is on day one, the same day as the 200 free, most likely taking the 200 free out of contention for McIntosh. Having the 200 fly on Day One is the best-case scenario for McIntosh. She will be as fresh as she can be during the meet, and she will have no other races that day to worry about.
Historically, McIntosh has excelled at Canadian Trials. At the 2025 Trials, she delivered one of the greatest meet performances ever. In Victoria, she went on to break three world records and put up the second-fastest times ever in the 200 fly and 800 free. The 2023 Canadian Trials was the meet when McIntosh broke her first world record in the 400 free and followed up with her second world record in the 400 IM. No matter the results, it will be a fascinating meet to follow McIntosh. With the 200 fly being her first race, McIntosh has a chance to set the tone for another historic meet.