McIntosh starts her quest for five gold medals at swim world championships

Summer McIntosh of Canada prepares to compete in the women's 200-meter individual medley heat at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

SINGAPORE — Summer McIntosh of Canada began her quest for five gold medals in the swimming world championships on Sunday’s opening day in Singapore.

Her first medal race is the 400-metre freestyle.

McIntosh, who won three gold medals a year ago at the Paris Olympics, holds the world record in the 400 free — 3 minutes, 54.18 seconds — and is the favourite in the race Sunday alongside American Katie Ledecky.

Ledecky has the year’s second-best time of 3:56.81. She will face McIntosh again in the 800 metres free later in the meet.

Though she holds the 400 free world record, McIntosh has failed to win gold in the event in the Olympics or previous world championships.

McIntosh will also be after gold in the worlds in the 200- and 400-individual medleys, and the 200 butterfly.

Famed Olympian Michael Phelps is the only swimmer to have won five individual gold medals at a world championships.

The men’s 400 free final is also on Sunday’s schedule. Lukas Martens of Germany is the favourite. He set the world record earlier this year of 3:39.96. That topped Paul Biedermann’s record, which had been on the books since 2009 in the super-suit era.

The other two gold-medal events on Sunday are the men’s and women’s 4x100 freestyle relays.

Stephen Wade, The Associated Press