Summer McIntosh lowers her own world record in 400 IM at Canadian Olympic trials

Summer McIntosh lowered her own world record in the 400-meter individual medley at the Canadian Olympic trials on Thursday.

The 17-year-old touched the wall in 4 minutes, 24.38 seconds, nearly 1 1/2 seconds better than her time of 4:25.87 at last year’s world championships trials, also held at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

McIntosh, a two-time world champion in the 400 IM, was just under world-record pace midway through the race and picked up the tempo on the breaststroke leg to open a two-second gap with 100 meters to go.

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“I was really just focusing on having fun with the race and kind of taking it 100 meters at a time because it’s a pretty mentally challenging race,” said McIntosh, who trains in Sarasota, Florida. “Whenever I get to race in front of a big crowd, I think it really gives me a lift. Just that complete adrenaline rush is awesome.”

McIntosh won the 400 freestyle on Monday and the 200 free on Tuesday at the trials, which run through Sunday.