Who is Summer McIntosh's coach and where does she train? All about the Canadian prodigy's swimming mentor

By Anirudh

Modified Jul 29, 2024 10:20 GMT

17-year-old Summer McIntosh is a competitive swimmer who is considered one of the best athletes in her sport. She is a four-time World Aquatics champion, two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and world record holder in the women's 400 meter individual medley.

McIntosh made waves very early in her career. She was just 14 years old when she finished fourth in the 400 meter freestyle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Two years ago, she became the youngest world champion and also the first Canadian to win two gold medals at a World Championships.

On Monday, McIntosh took part in the women's 400-metre individual medley heats and topped Heat 2 with a 4:37.35 effort. She holds the world record (4:24.38) in the event and is the favorite to clinch gold in the final later on Monday.

The Canadian has been coached by Brent Arckey in recent years. Despite hailing from Toronto, McIntosh has been training with the Sarasota Sharks club team in Florida. She first began training with the Sharks in the winter of 2021 before working full-time with Arckey in the fall of 2022.

Arckey has been with the Sarasota Sharks since 2010. He started his coaching career in Gainesville, Florida in 2005 and was a part of the University of Florida team that won the 2010 Women’s NCAA Championship.

Incidentally, one the best male swimmers in the world currently, France's Leon Marchand, has also been honing his skills in America. He has worked with Bob Bowman at Arizona State and later followed him to Texas.

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Summer McIntosh clinches Canada's first medal at 2024 Paris Olympics

Summer McIntosh in action at the 2024 Paris Olympics - Getty Images

Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Summer McIntosh was widely tipped as a favorite to clinch a medal at the Summer Games. And on Sunday (July 28), she did exactly that.

McIntosh has won Canada's first medal in the French capital with a silver in swimming's 400 meter freestyle. She finished with a time of 3:58.37 at the Paris La Defense Arena. It was Canada’s second Olympic medal in the women’s 400m freestyle after Shannon Smith won bronze at the Montreal 1976 Montreal Games.

The final was a much-anticipated event as it featured the three fastest women ever: world record holder Ariarne Titmus, Katie Ledecky, and McIntosh. Australian Titmus took the lead early and kept it till the end, winning gold with a 3:57.49 — more than two seconds slower than her world record. She managed to successfully defend the gold medal she won at the Tokyo Olympics.

While McIntosh managed to stay with Titmus through the first four of the eight laps, the Australian eventually pulled ahead and finished 0.88 ahead of the Canadian. 2016 Olympic champion Ledecky managed to finish third after finding herself in fourth place in the first half of the race. She finished with a time of 4:00.86, 2.49 behind McIntosh.

She is also expected to take part in the 200 meters butterfly and 200 meters individual events in Paris.