Summer McIntosh, the current world record holder in the women’s 400-meter freestyle event, fell short of qualifying for the A final at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships held in Irvine, California. During the morning heat, McIntosh was in contention for second place behind Australia’s Lani Pallister but was out-touched at the wall, finishing in third place and ninth overall with a time of 4 minutes 8.56 seconds, which was 14 seconds faster than her record time. Only the top eight swimmers advance to the A final scheduled for 10:07 p.m. ET.
As a result of missing the A final cut, the 19-year-old Canadian standout from Toronto will now compete in the B final at 10:01 p.m. Fans can catch the live stream of the event on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Last June, at the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria, McIntosh set a new record of 3:54.18, surpassing the previous mark held by the now-retired Ariarne Titmus of Australia, who set the record of 3:55.38 in 2023 at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
The highly anticipated A final event at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center was expected to be a fierce battle among American record-holder Katie Ledecky, Lani Pallister, who ranked fifth all-time entering the competition, and McIntosh. Ledecky secured the top spot in the qualifying rounds with a time of 4:03.48, while Pallister placed fourth clocking in at 4:05.22.
McIntosh made her debut at the Pan Pacific Championships on Wednesday in the women’s 200-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 1:53.86, just trailing behind Pallister who set a championship record of 1:53.67. On Thursday, McIntosh continued her impressive performance by breaking the championship record in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:28.01. She also clinched a bronze in the women’s 200 freestyle relay alongside Mary-Sophie Harvey, Emma O’Croiniin, and Brooklyn Douthwright.
Scheduled to compete in the 200-meter individual medley on Saturday, McIntosh’s journey at the championships continues.