Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh narrowly missed out on a gold medal by 0.02 seconds in the women’s 200-meter individual medley at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. The Toronto native settled for silver behind China’s Yu Yiting, who set a championship record with a time of 2:07.45. American Alex Walsh claimed the bronze in 2:07.66.
During the race, Yu started strong on the butterfly leg, then Regan Smith briefly led on the backstroke before Yu regained the lead on the breaststroke and held off McIntosh at the finish. McIntosh, the reigning Olympic and world champion, won gold in the 400m medley and silver in the 200m freestyle at the same meet. She also contributed to Canada’s bronze in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
Despite the close defeat, McIntosh expressed satisfaction with her performance, calling it one of her better swims. Looking ahead, she aims to reflect on her experience and focus on improvements for the next season. The 19-year-old, who holds the world record in the event, sees her accomplishments as a valuable learning experience as she transitions into her twenties.
In a separate event, Canadian Alexanne Lepage surprised the field by winning the women’s 200m breaststroke, setting a personal best of 2:21.73. Lepage led the race from start to finish, beating the reigning Olympic and world champion Kate Douglass, who took silver. Canada concluded the Pan Pacific Championships with a total of 13 medals, including three golds, four silvers, and six bronzes, marking the country’s most successful performance at the event since 1997.
Australian Sam Short clinched victory in the men’s 1,500m freestyle, setting a championship record with a time of 14:33.97. The men’s 50m freestyle was won by Jamie Jack of Australia, while American Jack Alexy secured silver. In the women’s 800m freestyle, Australian Lani Pallister handed Katie Ledecky her first international loss in the event, finishing ahead of the four-time Olympic champion.
The Pan Pacific Championships showcased impressive performances from swimmers worldwide, with several records broken and intense competition across various events.