Summer McIntosh smiles during the breaststroke leg on her way to breaking the World Record in the women's 400m IM at the Canadian Olympic Swim Trials in Toronto on May 16, 2024.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Summer McIntosh has turned the volume all the way up at the Canadian Olympic trials this week.
Not just the sound levels inside the Pan Am Sports Centre, where she has dominated four events and drawn frenzied reactions from the Canadian crowds.
McIntosh has also cranked up the decibels on the buzz she’s been generating around the world, as the weeks tick by until the Paris Olympics in July.
When she smashed her own world record in the 400-metre individual medley this week, the news reverberated from the United States to Australia, where her main competitors are all clocking her performances.
Yet, for all the noise McIntosh is creating these days, the 17-year-old from Toronto insists she isn’t hearing any of it.
“I think I’m getting used to it at this point,” McIntosh said of the din that now surrounds her. “I don’t really hear any of the outside noise. When I’m at a pool like this, all I hear is the support and the screaming from the stands. So that’s what I try to focus on.”
As for the screaming, there’s been a lot of it.
During her race Saturday night, her fourth of the trials, McIntosh won the 200-metre butterfly in a time of 2 minutes 4.33 seconds, as the roar from the roughly 1,700 fans in attendance drowned out the announcer.
It was the fastest time in the world this season for that event, solidifying her as Canada’s leading medal contender in the pool in France.
McIntosh allowed herself a brief smile when asked about the season-best time she put down, then quickly pointed out that it’s all just more noise.
She’s got 10 more weeks to Paris, and that’s where she’s putting her energy and attention, McIntosh said.
“I try not to focus too much on how fast it was compared to others. When it comes to the Olympic Games, everyone’s going to give that much more,” McIntosh said.
McIntosh also won the 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, and 400m individual medley at the trials this week.
Saturday’s victory secured McIntosh entry into her fourth individual event at the Summer Games, in addition to multiple relay events she will likely swim for Canada.
She first made noise at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, arriving as a precocious 14-year-old who was part of a Canadian relay team that narrowly missed the podium. Now, heading into Paris, she’s arriving as a contender, a serious threat expected to win a medal in multiple events, and a generational talent for Canada.
It will be her biggest stage yet. But until then, McIntosh said her preparation is devoted to the small details: honing her technique a little more, shaving milliseconds from her times and whatever else it takes.
“I’ve got about 10 weeks until Paris, not a ton of time, but enough to still have time to improve on some small things,” McIntosh said. “Just small little tweaks.”
Until then, she’ll be doing everything she can to tune out the noise, which – given the way she’s been swimming lately – will only grow louder.