3 Questions to Answer in Swimming’s New Year (Part II)

3 Questions to Answer in Swimming’s New Year (Part II)

As we navigate by the early days of 2026, it’s pure to look forward and surprise in regards to the months forward. What sorts of performances will we see from veteran champions? Who will emerge as a breakout star? These are simply two questions that may be requested in regards to the New Year, and Swimming World is questioning about others as effectively in a multi-part collection.

Here is Part II of Swimming World’s Questions for 2026.

Will Summer McIntosh Break the Longstanding World Record within the 200 Butterfly?

There was a time when the world document within the ladies’s 200 butterfly appeared untouchable. During the peak of the 2008-2009 super-suit period, China’s Liu Zige clocked 2:01.81, a efficiency that till lately was greater than a second sooner than anybody in historical past. Now, nevertheless, the mark is underneath assault, and it’s not stunning that the athlete threatening the usual is Summer McIntosh.

On three events throughout 2025, McIntosh went sub-2:03 within the 200 butterfly, together with a gold-medal successful effort of two:01.99 on the World Championships in Singapore. That outing left the Canadian star simply .18 shy of Liu’s document and totally altered the idea that 2:01.81 can be the occasion commonplace for years to come back. Rather, that world document is on life assist. McIntosh first put the document on discover with a 2:02.26 swim on the Canadian Trials for the World Champs. For a 2025 encore, she went 2:02.62 ultimately month’s U.S. Open.

McIntosh is already the world-record holder within the 400 freestyle, 200 particular person medley and 400 IM and a fourth world mark is clearly a goal within the 200 fly. Now coaching on the University of Texas, McIntosh’s greatest alternatives for Liu’s document determine to be Canadian Nationals in June or this summer time’s Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California. Maybe she’ll make a run earlier, maybe in Pro Series competitors. Bottom line: McIntosh is stalking the 16-year-old document, and it received’t be capable of run away for lengthy.

How Close Can Kate Douglass Get to the World Record within the 100 Breaststroke?

We already know Kate Douglass as a multi-event star who earned an Olympic title within the 200 breaststroke. But the 2025 season noticed Douglass enterprise into the 100 breaststroke and in spectacular trend, evident by the silver medal she earned on the World Championships. While the University of Virginia product has a number of choices in relation to her schedule at worldwide meets, let’s hope the 100 breaststroke stays a part of her program.

If Douglass follows by with the 100 breaststroke and contests the occasion on the Pan Pacific Championships, how shut can she get to the world document of 1:04.13, held by Lilly King since 2017? Douglass owns a greatest mark of 1:05.27 within the 100 breast, so she stays a hefty margin shy of the worldwide commonplace. However, she appears poised to go sub-1:05 and her mixture of pure velocity and shutting energy give her the instruments mandatory to provide a large bounce in what’s a comparatively new occasion for the American star.

Which Version of Pan Zhanle Will We See?

Chinese freestyler Pan Zhanle is likely one of the most enigmatic athletes within the sport. While Pan ran away with the gold medal within the 100-meter freestyle on the 2024 Olympic Games, he did not advance out of the semifinals within the occasion ultimately summer time’s World Championships. On different events, he has been sharp in a single self-discipline, however effectively off the mark in one other. So, which model will we see in 2026?

Without a global-championship meet this 12 months, Pan’s focus will probably be on the Asian Games, scheduled for the autumn in Tokyo. Chinese swimmers have lengthy positioned important emphasis on the Asian Games, usually valuing the competitors greater than the World Championships. If Pan invests himself within the meet, we’re more likely to see a swimmer much like the one who clocked a world document of 46.40 within the 100 freestyle on the Olympics in Paris.