By Barry Revzin on SwimSwam
Summer McIntosh has had an incredible few years.
In 2024, she was a three-time individual Olympic champion (women’s 200 Fly, 200/400 IM) and won silver in a fourth event (400 free).
In 2025, she was even more spectacular — setting three world records in five days during Canadian Trials and then winning four individual World titles (400 free, 200 fly, 200/400 IM) and bronze in a fifth (800 free). Those four wins weren’t just in dominating fashion; she very nearly broke the infamous-or-legendary (depending on your perspective) supersuited record in that 200 fly.
It’s worth taking a minute to try to get some perspective on McIntosh’s resume so far. Very few people have ever won at least three individual events at a single Olympics (11, although Michael Phelps did it twice) or four individual events at a single LC Worlds (four).
However, let’s instead discuss the records. McIntosh currently holds three long course world records: the women’s 200 IM (2:05.70), 400 IM (4:23.65), and 400 free (3:54.18). In the modern era (which I’m arbitrarily defining as starting in 1968), only 25 swimmers have ever broken world records in three different individual long course events. Of those, three never held them all at the same time (Shirley Babashoff, Barbara Krause, and Grant Hackett). If we look at the longest time that a swimmer has held at least three individual world records at the same time, we get this table:
Days Name Start End Current? 6625 Janet Evans Mar 22, 1988 May 12, 2006 3644 Michael Phelps Aug 01, 2009 Jul 24, 2019 3103 Sarah Sjostrom Jul 23, 2017 Jan 19, 2026 Yes 2843 Katie Ledecky Aug 09, 2014 May 22, 2022 2224 Michael Phelps Jun 29, 2003 Jul 31, 2009 1812 Kieren Perkins Sep 05, 1994 Aug 22, 1999 1763 Mark Spitz Aug 23, 1970 Jun 21, 1975 1583 Ian Thorpe Mar 27, 2001 Jul 27, 2005 1404 Inge de Bruijn May 27, 2000 Mar 31, 2004 1203 Vladimir Salnikov Mar 12, 1982 Jun 27, 1985 1002 Michael Gross Jun 27, 1985 Mar 25, 1988 979 Debbie Meyer Aug 24, 1968 Apr 30, 1971 935 Lenny Krayzelburg Aug 28, 1999 Mar 20, 2002 811 Kornelia Ender Jun 09, 1975 Aug 28, 1977 775 Shane Gould Jul 09, 1971 Aug 22, 1973 636 Penelope Heyns Jul 17, 1999 Apr 13, 2001 425 Denis Pankratov Aug 10, 1996 Oct 09, 1997 360 Tracey Wickham Aug 24, 1978 Aug 19, 1979 318 Tracy Caulkins Aug 23, 1978 Jul 07, 1979 251 Tim Shaw Jun 21, 1975 Feb 27, 1976 242 Kaylee McKeown Oct 20, 2023 Jun 18, 2024 225 Summer McIntosh Jun 09, 2025 Jan 19, 2026 Yes 153 Tim Shaw Aug 25, 1974 Jan 25, 1975 115 Kieren Perkins Apr 05, 1992 Jul 29, 1992 21 Gary Hall Sr. Aug 22, 1970 Sep 12, 1970 4 Michael Gross Jul 30, 1984 Aug 03, 1984 0 Mark Spitz Aug 22, 1970 Aug 22, 1970Notably on this chart, Phelps has two very long streaks that are separated by a single day — he lost the 100 fly world record to Milorad Cavic on July 31st, 2009, only to get it back the next day on August 1st. So he did hold at least three individual records on every calendar day from June 29, 2003, to July 24, 2019 — just not quite continuously.
Sarah Sjostrom has to hold her three records for another 551 days to pass the longer of Phelps’ streaks — that would happen on July 15, 2027. Notably, though, even summing both of Phelps’ streaks is still shorter than Janet Evans‘ 18-year stretch.
McIntosh is quickly working her way up this list. Her three records are very safe. But let’s talk about her other events. She is not even two tenths of a second away (2:01.99) from Liu Zige’s record in the 200 fly (2:01.81). It was not that long ago that I thought that record would never go down — and suddenly it’s only a matter of time. If McIntosh does break it (and you can bet I am rooting very hard for her to do so), she would be on a very short list of people who have broken four individual world records (9) and even fewer (8 — all but Tim Shaw) who have held four individual world records concurrently:
Days Name Start End 2513 Sarah Sjostrom Jul 29, 2017 Jun 15, 2024 856 Michael Phelps Mar 27, 2007 Jul 30, 2009 793 Inge de Bruijn May 28, 2000 Jul 30, 2002 751 Mark Spitz Aug 02, 1972 Aug 23, 1974 553 Debbie Meyer Aug 25, 1968 Mar 01, 1970 402 Kornelia Ender Jun 03, 1976 Jul 10, 1977 359 Michael Gross Jun 29, 1985 Jun 23, 1986 319 Shane Gould Aug 28, 1972 Jul 13, 1973 247 Shane Gould Dec 03, 1971 Aug 06, 1972 4 Mark Spitz Aug 27, 1971 Aug 31, 1971 1 Michael Phelps Jul 25, 2003 Jul 26, 2003Speaking of records that we all thought were untouchable, we have to talk about the 800 free (another event in which she is the #2 performer in history). There have been seventeen sub-8:10 swims in history, thirteen of them by Katie Ledecky. The other four were all in 2025: McIntosh three times (an 8:09.86 in February, 8:07.29 at Worlds, and 8:05.07 at Canadian Trials) and Lani Pallister once (the 8:05.98 at Worlds).
Suddenly, even that record is in jeopardy. It’s not like Ledecky will give it up easily, nor that McIntosh is the only threat to it. But were McIntosh to break this record too, then she would join the even smaller set of people who have broken individual world records in *five* events. That list is Mark Spitz (men’s 100/200 fly, 100/200/400 free), Shane Gould (women’s 100/200/400/800/1500 free and 200 IM), Michael Phelps (men’s 200 free, 100/200 fly, 200/400 IM), and Kornelia Ender (women’s 100/200 free, 100 back, 100 fly, 200 IM).
Of those who held at least five records at the same time?
Days Name Start End 236 Shane Gould Dec 12, 1971 Aug 04, 1972 224 Shane Gould Sep 01, 1972 Apr 13, 1973 16 Michael Phelps Jul 09, 2009 Jul 25, 2009 0 Kornelia Ender Jun 05, 1976 Jun 05, 1976Note that in the table above, Ender broke the world record in the women’s 200 IM on June 5, 1976, at the East German Championships, but lost her world record in the 100 back on the same day to Ulrike Richter. Although it’s not fully clear which event happened first, since Richter broke the 100 back record leading off the 400 medley relay, we can presume Ender briefly held five world records simultaneously, even if it was less than an hour.
Only Shane Gould has broken the world record in six individual events. Even that feat somehow seems within the realm of possibility for McIntosh. In her sixth-best event, McIntosh is the #5 performer all-time (1:53.65 in the 200 free). Her seventh best event would probably be the 200 back, in which she is merely ranked 30th all-time (2:06.81). Somehow, I doubt that will last either. Will McIntosh break the world record in the 200 fly, 200 free, and 800 free at some point in her career? Obviously, we don’t know. All three just seem inherently unlikely. But with the last few years that she’s had, I’m not about to start rooting against her. I certainly can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: History on the Line: Summer McIntosh and the Chase for Five World Records
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