How old was Summer McIntosh when she went to the Olympics? Everything you need to know about the four-time world champion including her age, schoolÂ
The two-time Common Wealth gold medalist, Summer McIntosh, was 14 years old when she competed in her first Olympic Games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan. She recorded the fastest time ever by a 14-year-old in the 400m freestyle by clocking an impressive 4:05.13 in May 2021.
McIntosh was the youngest member of the Canadian team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Now 17 years old, McIntosh continues training as a professional swimmer but has also continued with her academic career. After grade 8, McIntosh quit her regular school to dedicate a major part of her time to her intense training schedule.
Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, McIntosh moved to Florida to train at the Sarasota Sharks in the Vamo under coach Brent Arckey. As of now, McIntosh is finishing her grade 11 year at the Ontario Virtual School, an online educational platform that helps her balance both aspects.
McIntosh hails from a sports background. Her mother, Jill Horstead is a former Canadian Olympic team swimmer, who represented Canada at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Her older sister, Brooke is a pair skater, who represented the country along with her partner at the 2019 Junior World Championships in Croatia.
Summer McIntosh's remarkable achievements in her early career
Summer McIntosh has an impressive swimming career so far. Being only 14 years old, she was the youngest athlete on the Canadian team for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She finished fourth in the 400m freestyle clocking 4:02.42 and set a new Canadian record.
Then 14, she competed in the semi-finals of the women's 200m freestyle but had to settle in ninth place, thus missing out on the finals. She competed in the 4x200m relay, along with her team, including Rebecca Smith, Kayla Sanchez, and Oleksiak. The Canadian team had to settle in fourth place but they clocked a Canadian record. Additionally, she even competed in the 800m freestyle and was placed eleventh.
Nevertheless, McIntosh Bagged six medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England. She secured two gold medals in the 200m and 400m medley, three silver in the 4x100m medley, 400m and 4x200m freestyle. She secured a bronze medal in 4x100m freestyle.
She holds the world record for the 400 m individual medley clocking 4:25.87 at the Canadian Trials. She has eight medals, including four gold medals from the world championships to her name.