Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh narrowly missed out on a gold medal at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind China’s Yu Yiting in the women’s 200-meter individual medley. Yu Yiting set a championship record with a time of 2:07.45, while McIntosh settled for silver. American Alex Walsh claimed the bronze with a time of 2:07.66.
During the race, Yu Yiting led the opening butterfly leg at a world-record pace, but American Regan Smith took over on the backstroke. Yu regained the lead during the breaststroke and managed to hold off McIntosh in the final meters. This marked McIntosh’s third individual medal at the event, following her gold in the 400m medley, silver in the 200m freestyle, and a bronze in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
Reflecting on her performance, McIntosh expressed that despite it being one of her better swims, the overall meet did not go as planned. She emphasized the need for reflection and improvement for the upcoming season. McIntosh holds the world record in the event, set at the 2025 Canadian trials with a time of 2:05.70.
In another event, Canadian Alexanne Lepage clinched gold in the women’s 200m breaststroke, defeating reigning Olympic champion Kate Douglass. Lepage led throughout the race and finished with a lifetime best of 2:21.73. Douglass rallied but could not catch Lepage, settling for silver with a time of 2:22.57. South Africa’s Kaylene Corbett secured the third spot with a time of 2:22.97.
Canada wrapped up the Championships with a total of 13 medals (three gold, four silver, six bronze), the highest since 1997. The U.S. topped the medal standings with 50, followed by Australia with 35 and Canada.
Further results included Taylor Ruck setting a new Canadian record in the women’s 50m freestyle and Lani Pallister of Australia defeating Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle, marking Ledecky’s first international loss in the event. Sam Short of Australia won the men’s 1,500 free, and Jamie Jack of Australia claimed victory in the men’s 50 free.