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 in Irvine, California. Despite being in a position to secure the second spot behind Australia’s Lani Pallister in the morning heat, McIntosh was narrowly out-touched to finish in third place, ranking ninth overall with a time of 4 minutes and 8.56 seconds, which was 14 seconds slower than her record-setting time. China’s Fan Yaqi, a 15-year-old swimmer, clinched the final eighth spot with a time of 4:08.36 for the evening final at 10:07 p.m. ET.
The 19-year-old Canadian sensation hailing from Toronto expressed her readiness to compete in the B final scheduled for 10:01 p.m., where she will be joined by her teammate, Ella Cosgrove, who finished 13th overall. The live stream of the event can be accessed on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. McIntosh took to Instagram to acknowledge her misjudgment in the morning heats and assured her fans of her presence in the B final, thanking them for their support.
In June, McIntosh set a new record of 3:54.18 at the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria, surpassing the previous record held by the retired Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus (3:55.38) from the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The highly anticipated A final at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center featured a showdown among American record-holder Katie Ledecky, Lani Pallister, and McIntosh. Ledecky topped the qualifiers with a time of 4:03.48, while Pallister secured the fourth spot with a time of 4:05.22.
McIntosh made her debut at the Pan Pacific Championships with a silver medal in the women’s 200-meter freestyle, finishing just shy of Pallister’s championship-record time. She continued her success on Thursday by breaking the championship record in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:28.01 and also contributed to Canada’s bronze in the women’s 200 free relay alongside Mary-Sophie Harvey, Emma O’Croiniin, and Brooklyn Douthwright. Scheduled to compete in the 200 IM on Saturday, McIntosh remains a key contender at the event.