World Aquatics: Summer McIntosh Nearly Breaks World Record in 200m Butterfly; 12-Year-Old Yu Zidi Finishes Fourth

Singapore: Canada’s Summer McIntosh came within a whisker of breaking a long-standing world record in the women’s 200m butterfly at the World Aquatics Championships, delivering a breathtaking swim that almost rewrote history.

McIntosh clocked an astonishing 2:01.99, just 0.18 seconds shy of the world record time of 2:01.81 set by China’s Liu Zige in 2009. Her performance is now the closest anyone has come to that mark in over a decade.

Since 2010, only four athletes have swum the 200m butterfly in under 2:04 — a barrier McIntosh, just 18, shattered with ease as she claimed her third world title in the event, and her third gold at this championship.

She opened her race with a 100m split of 58.41, ahead of record pace, and maintained momentum through the third 50m with a 31.59. Finishing the final 50m in 31.99 seconds, she surpassed her previous Americas record of 2:02.26 (set in June), further tightening her grip on the event.

Now training under coach Fred Vergnoux in France, McIntosh has entered five events at this meet as a test run for a similar lineup she plans for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Her next challenge is the 800m freestyle in a highly anticipated showdown with Katie Ledecky, followed by the 400m individual medley on Sunday.

In the same event, Regan Smith of the USA secured silver with a season-best time of 2:04.99 — her eighth individual medal at the World Aquatics Championships. Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers earned bronze in 2:06.12, adding to her silver from Fukuoka 2023.

A standout performance came from China’s 12-year-old sensation Yu Zidi, who finished fourth in 2:06.43, just 0.31 seconds behind Dekkers. Competing in her first international event, the young swimmer once again narrowly missed the podium, making headlines for her extraordinary talent and composure.

In the men’s 200m individual medley, France’s Léon Marchand delivered another top-tier performance, winning gold in 1:53.68 — the second-fastest time in history. Although slightly off his record-setting pace from the semifinals (1:52), his strong breaststroke leg (32.96) and consistent freestyle brought him a third straight world title in the event, following wins in Budapest 2022 and Fukuoka 2023.

Marchand led a clean sweep by Bob Bowman-trained swimmers, with American Shaine Casas taking silver in 1:54.30 and Hungary’s Hubert Kós earning bronze with 1:55.34. All three train at Bowman’s elite academy in Austin, Texas.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 100m freestyle, Romania’s David Popovici claimed his second gold of the championships, winning in a blistering 46.51 — the second-fastest time ever recorded in the event. USA’s Jack Alexy took silver in 46.92, while Australia’s Kyle Chalmers secured bronze in 47.17, rounding out a podium that went as predicted.

With inputs from IANS