Breakdown of Summer's WR Splits

Canadian swimmer and Funkita athlete, Summer McIntosh made history, by breaking the world record in the 400m freestyle and 400m individual medley at the Canadian FINA World Championship Trials held in Toronto. The first time any swimmer has held both World Records for the 400m events.

In the 400m freestyle, the 16-year-old superstar clocked in at 3:56.08, beating the previous world record time of 3:56.40 set by Australian swimmer, and former Funkita athlete, Ariarne Titmus in May 2022 during the Australian National Championships.

Comparing the splits between the two champion swimmers, Summer started off strong with a 100m split time of 56.46 seconds, which was faster than Ariarne's split time of 57.13 seconds. She then maintained her speed and consistency throughout the race, with her 200m and 300m split times being faster than Ariarne's by 0.41 and 0.55 seconds, respectively. In the final 100m, Summer was far enough ahead of Ariarne’s time to record a slower split, Ariarne's split time was actually 1.21 seconds faster than Summer's, but Summer took the world record by 0.32 seconds.

On Sunday April 2, Summer McIntosh hit the water for the 400m individual medley and another incredible swim was about to be recorded. Her time of 4:25.86 broke Katinka Hosszu's world record time of 4:26.40 from the Rio Olympics in 2016. Summer’s time was 0.54 seconds faster, an incredible achievement by the 16-year-old.

Comparing the split times for each 100m, Summer started the race strong, swimming the first 100m fly in 59.47 seconds, 1.43 seconds faster than Hosszu's start in Rio. McIntosh maintained her lead through the backstroke leg of the race, with a split time of 1:06.92 compared to Hosszu's split time of 1:07.49. However, Hosszu closed the gap during the breaststroke leg, swimming a split time of 1:16.11, while McIntosh swam a split time of 1:19.92.

In the final freestyle leg, McIntosh managed to hold on to her lead, swimming a split time of 1:00.55 compared to Hosszu's split time of 1:01.86 (almost as quick as her final split in the 400m free). This impressive performance in the final leg allowed Summer to finish just ahead of Hosszu's world record time.

Summer's impressive feat is a testament to her hard work and dedication in training, and her sheer tenacity in the pool. She is a rising star in the world of swimming, and her world record-breaking performance has solidified her status as one of the top swimmers in the world leading into World Championships and Paris 2024.

As a brand that supports swimmers at all levels, Funkita is proud to have Summer as part of our team and looks forward to seeing her continue to achieve great things in the future. We are so excited to sponsor Summer and to see her achieve such incredible things in the pool. She is an inspiration to us all and proves that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.

Want to read Summer’s answers to questions put to her by other funkettes? Check them out here.