Summer McIntosh took down a record that China's Liu Zige held since October 2009. Alex Slitz / Getty ImagesJuly 5, 2026 8:50 pm EDT Updated Make it four world records for Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh.The 19-year-old and three-time Olympic champion broke the longest-standing world record in women’s swimming on Sunday, setting a new bar in the 200-meter butterfly.McIntosh swam it in 2 minutes, 1.65 seconds at the Canadian trials in Montreal. That bested the previous long-course (50-meter) pool mark of 2:01.81, set by China’s Liu Zige in October 2009.Zige’s swim came just months before a ban on the polyurethane “super suits” that helped swimmers take down more than 100 world records in 2008 and 2009. For 15 years, no one came within two seconds of her time.
Then along came McIntosh. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, McIntosh — 17 at the time — won gold in the 200 fly with a swim of 2:03.03, the second-fastest ever. She went faster three times last year, including a 2:01.99 at the world championships in Singapore last July.On Sunday, she put it all together to take down a record that looked untouchable.McIntosh, who moved to Texas last year to train with legendary coach Bob Bowman, now holds four individual world records in long-course pools, including the 400-meter freestyle and the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys. She set all three of those over five days at last year’s Canadian trials.Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who set the 50-meter butterfly mark in July 2014, now holds the oldest world record in women’s swimming. Four men’s world records still date back to the 2008-2009 super suit era, the oldest being Michael Phelps and the U.S. men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team’s mark at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.The Canadian trials will set the team for next month’s Pan Pacific Championships, the biggest international meet of the season.
