Summer McIntosh won three individual gold medals a year ago at the Olympics, the star in the Paris pool alongside France’s Léon Marchand.
Apparently unsatisfied with three, she’ll go for five gold medals starting Sunday at the world swimming championships in Singapore. Call it a trial run for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The worlds is the highest profile swim meet since last year’s Olympics, a showcase for newcomers as well veterans who hope to stick around until Los Angeles.
McIntosh will be very busy during the eight days in the pool, packing her schedule with five individual events. She’ll contend with prelims in some events, and she’ll also add relays.
“This means 14 or 15 races she could swim in eight days, demanding races,” Canada’s head coach Iain McDonald told The Associated Press. “It’s a very challenging schedule she’s set for herself.”
The 18-year-old Canadian set three world records in five days in June at the national trials. She broke her own 400-meter individual medley mark, dropping it to 4 minutes, 23.65 seconds, and set the 200 IM record (2:05.70) and the 400 freestyle record (3:54.18).
She was also a mere half-second behind the 200 butterfly record, which has stood since 2009, and just off the 800 freestyle record set last month by American Katie Ledecky.
“She’s such a versatile athlete, it’s kind of tough to nail what her best events are,” McDonald said. “She’s pretty good right across the spectrum.”
Opening day
McIntosh will be the focus on Day 1 of the pool events in Singapore. She swims the 400 freestyle final, and comes back about 30 minutes later for a semifinal of the 200 IM.
Despite holding the world record in the 400 free, she’s never won gold in the event at the Olympics or worlds. This time she’s ready, and credits coach Fred Vergnoux.
“I’m super pumped for the 400 freestyle and I’m really excited to see how I manage doing the double,” McIntosh told Canadian broadcaster the CBC.
McIntosh said Vergnoux has boosted her endurance, pointing more to distance events.
“It’s true that I haven’t been able to do it on world stage yet,” she said of the 400. “I think going into past big meets I haven’t had the confidence in my training and my freestyle in general — technique-wise and endurance-wise — that I have now.”
Ariarne Titmus was the gold medalist in Paris with silver for McIntosh, but the Australian swimmer is taking a year off. It’s Titmus’s record that McIntosh just broke. Ledecky, the bronze medalist in Paris, appears to be McIntosh’s chief rival.
McIntosh will also face Ledecky in the 800, which might be the only race where McIntosh is not favored. It’s probably 50-50, and it might be the biggest race of the championships.
Ledecky set the world record this year of 8:04.12, and McIntosh is right behind, having clocked 8:05.07.
“I think she loves it (the challenge),” Greg Meehan, the US team director, said of Ledecky. “There are always threats coming at you because you’ve set yourself to be the gold standard.”
McIntosh dominates the two IM races, and should also be a favorite in the 200 butterfly.
Ledecky’s best race is the 1,500 where she holds the world record and also has the 23 top times in history in the event — and No. 25, too. McIntosh is not in the field here.
McIntosh, who will swim this fall under Bob Bowman at the University of Texas at Austin, arrived on the scene aged 14 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, finishing fourth in the 400 free.
“She’s been such a strong performer through her entire career at such a young age,” McDonald said. “But she always manages to surprise you, upping her game a little bit.”
Attention on Yu
Some of the attention in Singapore will be on 12-year-old Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi. Yu has qualified in the 200 and 400 IMs and the 200 butterfly and could face McIntosh in all three finals. Unbelievably, she could win a medal — at 12.
Yu’s time of 2:10.63 in the Chinese championships in May was the fastest by any 12 year old — female or male — in history. She’s also swum 2:06.83 in the 200 fly and 4:35.53 in the 400 IM. Both of those times would have been good for fourth place in last year’s Olympics.
Astoundingly, Yu is 12 to 15 seconds faster than McIntosh was at age 12, depending on the event. That’s roughly a half-lap of a 50-meter pool.
“There is always somebody coming up next,” McDonald said.
McIntosh goes for 5 individual golds at world championships with Los Angeles Olympics in sight
https://arab.news/ms7kg
McIntosh goes for 5 individual golds at world championships with Los Angeles Olympics in sight
- Summer McIntosh is set to compete in five individual events at the world swimming championships in Singapore
- McIntosh broke three world records in June, including the 400-meter freestyle
Most women’s national team players earn less than $20,000, FIFPRO study shows
- Some 66 percent of players earn below $20,000 annually from football
- Nearly one-third of respondents reported earning between $0 and $4,999 from football
MANCHESTER: Two-thirds of women’s national team players earn less than $20,000 annually, according to a new FIFPRO survey that highlights persistent financial insecurity and structural gaps in the women’s game.
The global players union and affiliated national players unions surveyed 407 footballers from 41 nations who participated in the UEFA Women’s Euros, Copa America Femenina, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the OFC Women’s Nations Cup.
Some 66 percent of players earn below $20,000 annually from football and nearly one-third of respondents reported earning between $0 and $4,999 from football, while only a small minority reached higher income brackets.
Professional clubs remain the main source of income, followed by national team payments, yet one in four players still rely on jobs outside football to make ends meet.
“Financial stability is a cornerstone of any career,” said FIFPRO’s Director of Women’s Football Alex Culvin. “The data is very clear: most players are earning insufficient income to ensure secure careers within the game.
“It is a risk to the sustainability of the sport because players will be inclined to leave football early to make ends meet.”
The survey, conducted between August and October, also revealed short-term contracts remain common: 33 percent of players were signed for one year or less, and 22 percent had no contract at all.
International competition schedules continue to strain players, with 58 percent saying pre-match rest was inadequate and 57 percent reporting insufficient recovery after games.
Travel conditions are also an issue, with three-quarters of players flying economy class during tournaments, with only 11 percent in premium economy or business.
While FIFPRO noted improvements since their 2022 survey – including increased prize money and a player-dedicated share at the Women’s Euros – similar reforms have not been replicated across other confederations.
Culvin said stakeholders must “continue to raise standards to support the increased professionalization of the women’s game.”
