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Summer McIntosh: 16-year-old super swimmer breaks two world records
Image source, Getty Images
Have you ever heard of Summer McIntosh?
Well, remember the name because the 16-year-old Canadian looks set to take the swimming world by storm.
Summer made some serious waves at this year's Canadian swimming trials where swimmers compete to represent their country at big competitions - such as the World Aquatics Championships in Japan later this year.
The teenager set a world record in the 400m individual medley event at the Canadian swimming trials on Saturday, just four days after breaking the existing record in the 400m freestyle.
Image source, Getty Images
Summer, who is the daughter of former Canadian Olympic team swimmer Jill Horstead, finished the 400m individual medley over the weekend in a time of 4:25.87, smashing the previous record of 4:26.36 set by Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
"That's the first time I really, vividly heard the crowd during my race," the 16-year-old said following her record-breaking feat.
"It's amazing to have all my family and friends in the stands, cheering me on. It really helped me in the last 100 metres."
Image source, Getty Images
Her performance in the 400m freestyle on the opening night of the trials last Tuesday, saw her shave 0.32 seconds off the previous record time set by Australia's Ariarne Titmus last year.
"I'm not a crier but this world record, I didn't think this was possible tonight," McIntosh told CBC Sports after gaining her first world record.
"It's absolutely incredible. I'm not an emotional person. But I was hit with so much emotion. Pure euphoria right now.
"Over the past few years I've put my life into this. To be the best I can be. To achieve something like this, it was very unexpected. It was never in my dreams to do this tonight or even a few years ago. This just blows my mind."
Olympics at 14
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Summer McIntosh certainly isn't new to making an impact in the world of swimming.
The teen secured four medals at the World Aquatics Championships last year in Budapest, including two golds.
She also made her Olympic debut in 2020 at just 14-years-old, making her the youngest member on the team. She finished fourth in the 200 metre freestyle at the competition.
Summer will be competing as part of the Canadian team at the World Aquatics Championships this July.
"I'm really excited to be honest," she told World Aquatics.
"There's always room for improvement. I always watch my races with my coach and kind of nit-pick what I could do better to keep improving."