Summer McIntosh is now encountering an unexpected challenge in her quest for five individual gold medals at the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Due to a significant change in the scheduling of the upcoming Summer Games announced on Wednesday, conflicts have emerged that will impact the Canadian swimming sensation’s event selection.
One of the notable changes occurs on the last day of swimming competition, where the women’s 200-meter butterfly and 800-meter freestyle are now scheduled consecutively.
This adjustment effectively eliminates the possibility of McIntosh competing in the 800m freestyle despite her efforts to excel and contend for gold in Los Angeles.
CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux asked Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh what it’s like being one of the greatest Canadian athletes alive right now.
The 19-year-old athlete from Toronto, a three-time world champion and the reigning Olympic champion in the 200m butterfly, demonstrated impressive performance with the second-fastest women’s 800m freestyle time ever (8:05.07) during the Canadian trials in June.
“The revised schedule doesn’t hinder Summer’s ambition of aiming for five gold medals in L.A.,” remarked Byron MacDonald, the head swimming coach at the University of Toronto, to CBC Sports.
“However, it shifts the focus from ‘What will be Summer’s fifth event?’ to ‘Summer’s fifth event will likely be the 200m freestyle,'” MacDonald added.
McIntosh is almost certain to compete in the 200m individual medley, 400m IM, 200m butterfly, and 400m freestyle events.
“The other potential options for her fifth event were the 800m freestyle and the 200m backstroke, both conflicting with her pursuit of gold in other events. The 800m freestyle presents an impractical double, scheduled back-to-back with the 200m butterfly, making it unfeasible,” MacDonald explained.
“The 200m backstroke is scheduled in the same session as the 200m IM, allowing for a feasible gap of over an hour between the two races. However, opting for the 200m freestyle, a standalone event with no scheduling conflicts, is the more logical choice,” MacDonald stated.
McIntosh is set to kick off her Olympic journey with the 400m freestyle final on Saturday, July 22.
Provisional CBC Sports projection of McIntosh’s schedule for L.A. 2028:
- Day 1 – 400m freestyle final
- Day 2 – Rest day
- Day 3 – 400m IM final
- Day 4 –