Summer McIntosh, a Canadian swimming sensation, is aiming for five individual gold medals at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after her remarkable success at the 2024 Olympics and last year’s world championships. With this ambitious goal, she hopes to match the achievement of legendary swimmer Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
During a recent flight to California, McIntosh was inspired when she saw the SoFi Stadium, the venue that will host swimming events at the 2028 Olympics. The 19-year-old from Toronto expressed her excitement about competing at the grand venue and visualized her future achievements there.
Currently, McIntosh is gearing up for the Pan Pacific championships in Irvine, California, where she will lead a team of 42 Canadian swimmers. This prestigious event, held every four years, features top swimming nations like Australia, the United States, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, China, and Canada.
The competition kicked off with open-water events in Long Beach, where Canadian swimmer Emma Finlin secured a commendable 13th place. McIntosh will be competing in four events over four days, starting with the 200m freestyle and culminating with the 200m individual medley.
McIntosh made strategic choices in her event selection, opting out of the 800m freestyle and the 200m butterfly to focus on events where she holds world records and previous victories. Coached by Bob Bowman, the former trainer of Michael Phelps, McIntosh is determined to excel in her chosen events and make a mark at the Pan Pacific championships.
The competition will see McIntosh face off against renowned swimmers like Katie Ledecky of the United States and Lanni Pallister of Australia in exciting showdowns. Fans can catch all the action live on the CBC Gem streaming app and the CBC Sports website, with morning heats starting at 1 p.m. ET and finals at 10 p.m. ET each day.