Summer McIntosh Met Michael Phelps via FaceTime After Sensational Trials Performance
The heights to which Summer McIntosh is attempting to push herself this year are nearly unprecedented. Following her historic three-world-record performance at Canadian Trials, McIntosh will race five individual events at the World Championships. She enters as heavy favorite in four of those events while sitting as co-favorites with Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle.
In the sport’s history, only one person has captured five individual golds at a major international competition, Michael Phelps at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. And in the immediate aftermath of her incredible Trials, McIntosh received congratulations from the former swimmer she considers her idol.
The day after the selection meet finished, McIntosh was training in advance of her flight out of Victoria when former Canadian swimmer and current broadcaster Brittany MacLean got her attention.
Michael Phelps — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
“I was like, ‘Wait, what? I need to keep training.’ And then she’s like, ‘Someone wants to talk to you.’ And then she hands me the phone, and it’s Michael Phelps. I’m like, ‘Wait, what is going on?’ I was in utter shock. Of course, I was not expecting that whatsoever,” McIntosh said.
“He was just congratulating me on what I had just accomplished, and honestly, it’s still a shock. I can’t believe that still happened, but it was an honor, and it was so cool get to talk to him. It definitely gave me more motivation to keep doing what I’m doing.”
It was partially because of Phelps’ work with Bob Bowman throughout his career that convinced McIntosh to seek out Bowman’s guidance for herself. After spending the past several months in southern France training under Fred Vergnoux, who she credited with “taking me to the next level in the sport” in advance of this summer’s World Championships, she will move her training base to Austin, Texas, beginning in the fall.
McIntosh will soon train alongside the world’s top swimmer in the men’s medley events, Leon Marchand, plus her closest global rival in the 200 butterfly, Regan Smith, along with a stacked cadre of performers including Olympic medalists Hubert Kos, Luke Hobson and Carson Foster.
“There’s many, many reasons I made the decision to move to Austin and train under Bob Bowman. I mean, it’s really amazing to see what he’s done with Leon, of course, and that’s really inspiring, along with so many of his other current swimmers that are currently on the pro team and the university team as well along with, of course, what he did with Michael. I mean, that’s never going to not be something that the swim world knows about, right?” McIntosh said.
“I think it’s just very encouraging to see what he’s been able to do time and time again with men and female swimmers in a range of events. And I think the the events that he coaches and specializes in are my events. So it works out pretty well. And just getting to talk to him and see the program and things like that, I just see myself growing there as not only a swimmer, but as a person as well. And I was really ready to take that next step in my swimming career.”
