McIntosh Headlines World Aquatics Championships Team

VICTORIA – Swimming Canada has announced the team selected to compete at this summer’s World Aquatic Championships in Singapore.  
The team will consist of 28 swimmers, including 14 female and 14 male athletes.

The athletes were selected based on their performances during the six-day Bell Canadian Swimming Trials held at Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria.

Summer McIntosh, the 18-year-old swimming sensation from Toronto, had a dominating performance during the trials, setting three world records and five Canadian records while qualifying in five events.

She is the first swimmer to break three different individual long course world records in one meet since Michael Phelps at Beijing 2008. She’s the first woman to accomplish that feat in swimming since Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands at Sydney 2000.

McIntosh believes she can be even faster come the world championships.

“I can go over with my coach and see where to make improvements and really just use this as motivation and validation for my training so far,” said McIntosh, who has won eight medals, including four gold, competing at two previous world long-course championships. “Just keep pushing and moving forward and work even harder.”

Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ont., will appear in her fifth world championships. She has won nine medals, including three gold. She will be looking to keep her streak alive of winning at least one medal at every major championships or Games since joining the national team in 2015.

“It’s always an incredible honour to represent Canada,” said the three-time Olympian. “For this to be my 10^th year on the national team is something I’m really proud of. It feels really special to come back after another Olympics and be able to continue to perform.

“It’s an exciting time for swimming in Canada. We’ve had momentum for a number of years and it’s really cool to see how much this sport has grown in our country and just to see some really fast swimming.”

Finlay Knox, who trains at the High Performance Centre – Vancouver, goes to Singapore as the defending world champion in the 200-m individual medley. At the Doha 2024 championships he became the first Canadian man in 17 years to win a gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships.

“It’s the highest level in swimming, being able to represent your country and race the fastest swimmers in the world,” said Knox, who will compete in his fourth long-course world championships. “It’s why I do it and it’s what I wanted to do as a kid.

“I’m thrilled I’m on the team again and to be able to represent Canada once more.”

Among the first-time team members is Madison Kryger, a 16-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ont., who won the 200-m backstroke.

“It genuinely means so much,” said Kryger, one of four senior team rookies selected. “Making my first junior team last year was a dream come true. This just somehow topped it.

“I’ve just grown a lot as a swimmer and I’m learning a lot.”

Swimming Canada High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson is pleased with the team’s mixture of veterans and rookies.

“We’ve had a six-day trials in Victoria that have taken swimming to a new level across Canada,” said Atkinson. “We have established star athletes, Olympic medallists, senior team members and breakthrough athletes on their first national team that have all put together a series of amazing performances.

“Now it’s a case of buckling down, reset, refocus and get ready to see this team race in Singapore at the world championships. I think we’re going to have some fantastic performances.”
Open water swimming at the world championships is set for July 14-19, followed by pool competition July 26 to Aug. 3.

Swimming Canada’s team for the World Aquatic Championships: