Summer McIntosh Withdraws from Bell Canadian Trials Due to Illness
Swimming Canada announced on Tuesday that Summer McIntosh has withdrawn from Bell Canadian Trials due to illness.
The announcement comes two days into the five-day meet. McIntosh opened it with a world record in the 200 butterfly and world-leading time in the 400 individual medley before an illness cropped up that cuts short her trials.
McIntosh made the apologetic announcement on her social media early Tuesday.
“I’m so sorry, but on the advice of my doctors and coach, I’ve made the difficult decision to scratch from my remaining events at the 2026 Canadian Trials,” she wrote. “I started feeling ill yesterday morning, and while I hoped I’d be able to keep racing, this is the right decision.
“There is so much magic in this pool, and I’m incredibly grateful I got to experience it. I’m so disappointed that I can’t continue racing in front of these amazing crowds, but my focus now is on getting healthy so I can be ready to represent Canada at the Pan Pacific Championships. Thank you for all the love and support this week. I’m so sorry our time together was cut short and thank you for cheering me and all of the athletes on. Best of luck to everyone for the rest of the competition.”
Swimming Canada said that the decision was made in consultation with McIntosh’s coach, Bob Bowman, as well as Swimming Canada medical staff. The priority is to prepare her for competition at the Pan Pacific Championships next month.
“Summer came to Montreal with clear performance objectives, and she leaves having delivered another memorable moment for Canadian swimming fans,” Swimming Canada high performance director and national coach John Atkinson said in a press release. “After ongoing discussions with Bob, our medical team and Summer, the decision was made with Swimming Canada’s full support that this is the best course of action. This allows her to recover from illness, protect her health, and return to training as quickly as possible. It’s never easy for an athlete to step away from competition, but this decision puts her in the strongest position for the remainder of the season, including her final preparations for Pan Pacific Championships. We know Canadians were inspired by what she achieved here, especially with her historic world-record performance in the 200-metre butterfly, and we look forward to seeing her back in the pool soon.”
Of that magic in the pool, McIntosh managed to add to it in her short time at the meet in Montreal. She set the world record in the women’s 200 fly on Sunday night, taking down the final super-suited record on the women’s side, belonging to China’s Liu Zige. She now holds four world records simultaneously.
On Monday night, despite being evidently under the weather, she set the fastest time in the world in the 400 IM at 4:27.35. It was nearly three seconds off her world record and the eighth-fastest performance all-time, with McIntosh now owning nine of the 10 fastest performances in history.