Summer McIntosh Calls 800 Free Bronze ‘Really Big Lesson’

World Championships: Summer McIntosh Calls 800 Free Bronze ‘Really Big Lesson’

At a number of moments in the course of the remaining of the ladies’s 800 freestyle on the World Championships, Summer McIntosh appeared on the verge of taking on.

The Canadian star had produced three dominant wins this week, and even the relentless Katie Ledecky might need hassle maintaining. Ledecky had led all the means, however McIntosh stayed inside tenths earlier than lastly flipping first on the 700-meter mark.

But McIntosh couldn’t match the ultimate surges from Ledecky or Lani Pallister, and her well-publicized quest to win 5 particular person gold medals got here to an finish. She nonetheless received bronze, her time of 8:07.39 the second-quickest of her profession and the Tenth-best effort ever recorded. McIntosh shall be closely favored so as to add a fourth gold in Sunday’s 400 IM on the meet’s remaining day, her world report of 4:23.65 within the occasion nearly 10 seconds away from the No. 2 seed.

But within the aftermath of the 800, McIntosh couldn’t masks her disappointment. While issuing congratulations to Ledecky and Pallister, she known as her personal efficiency “obviously … not even close to what I wanted time-wise, place-wise, how I executed the race.”

McIntosh criticized herself for “thinking too much because it’s the 800,” an occasion she had not raced in worldwide competitors because the Tokyo Olympics, when as a 14-year-old she didn’t make it out of the heats. She has constructed up a strong report of 800-meter performances and is the one swimmer to beat Ledecky in an 800-meter race since Ledecky’s emergence on the worldwide scene 13 years in the past (at a neighborhood meet in Florida), and she or he almost nabbed Ledecky’s world report at Canadian Trials in June.

McIntosh in contrast this outcome to her efficiency within the 400 free on the 2023 Worlds. She entered that race as world-record holder however ended up falling out of podium competition whereas dropping her high mark to Ariarne Titmus. McIntosh grew from that race, happening to win medals in all her remaining occasions that week and carry out a lot better within the Paris Olympic remaining.

“I think I was thinking too much about Katie being beside me and trying to keep up with her and not let her take over too much, rather than just swimming my own race,” McIntosh mentioned. “I went 8:05 at Trials, but I’m a lot more tired here. I think that was a big learning lesson for me. This feels like a big flashback from Fukuoka 400 free. It’ll definitely take some time, this is a new event for me and I have lots to learn in it and we’ll see where it takes me in the next few years heading into LA.”

Big moments have not often been an excessive amount of for McIntosh to deal with, as evidenced by her increasing assortment of worldwide gold medal. But she was profoundly dissatisfied with how she dealt with this one whereas contending with Ledecky’s 800-meter mastery on the best way to the American’s seventh world title within the occasion.

“I hate losing more than I like winning, and I think that’s a mentality that I carried with myself through my entire career, my hand on the wall first most of the time.  The feeling right now is something I never want to feel again,” she mentioned. “Moments like this are what I think about in training when I’m dying in a hard set and have to keep pushing.”

McIntosh has but to decide to maintaining the 800 free as a part of her occasion lineup the 2028 Olympics, calling the occasion an addition to her standard core of the 400 free, 200 butterfly and each IM occasions. The occasion order for the following Games has not been introduced, however the 800 wouldn’t have slot in McIntosh’s schedule in Paris due to an overlap with the 200 IM.

But given what transpired right here, count on to see her again within the 800 free chasing the race that eluded her on Saturday in Singapore.

“That definitely will fuel me to continue to do it until I master it and execute it the way I want it and stand on top of the podium at the international level,” McIntosh mentioned.