Summer McIntosh leads Canadian swim team eager to build on Paris success at world short course championships

 Sports has live coverage of every race beginning Tuesday
Summer McIntosh is feeling right at home in the familiar confines of Duna Arena.

It was here in Budapest two years ago at the long course world championships the Canadian swimming sensation rocketed into a completely different stratosphere.

The Toronto teen, who was just 15 years old at the time, captured her first two individual world championship titles, swimming to gold in both the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley in world junior record times. She became the youngest Canadian ever to win a world title. 

Two years later, McIntosh and the Canadians are back at Duna Arena getting ready for the short course world championships, set to begin Tuesday in the Hungarian capital. CBC Sports and CBC Gem will stream every race live with heats starting at 3 a.m. ET and finals at 11:30 a.m. ET. each day.

“This is definitely one of my favourite, if not my favourite, pool in the world because it holds so many memories and it’s a really fast pool,” McIntosh told CBC Sports at a training session ahead of the event. “To be back here two years later after one of the most important meets in my swimming career, it feels so long ago and seeing how far I’ve come since then is really cool.”

McIntosh is coming off an electrifying Summer Games where she became the first Canadian ever to win three gold medals at a single Olympics. She’ll be competing in four individual events in Budapest starting with the 400m freestyle on Tuesday’s opening night. 
My goal is to win every event I enter. I have a bit of extra oomph for the 400m freestyle,” McIntosh said. “I’m super excited to be here. I’ve been training really hard these past couple of months.”

McIntosh will also be competing in the 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly and 200m backstroke, the first time she’ll be competing internationally in a backstroke event. 

“I’m swimming all my favourite events and I’m just ready to get racing,” she said. “Short course the turns matter. Details, turns, underwater swimming matters even more in short course. I’ve been focusing on that in training, getting reps and reps.”

Brent Arckey, her coach with Sarasota Sharks swim club, is once again a part of the Canadian coaching staff. Arckey says this is another opportunity to evaluate where McIntosh is at and build off of her Olympic performance.

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“She can be as good as she wants here. You know she’s going to ring it out. When she gets behind the blocks you know she’s going to give you 110 per cent,” Arckey said.  “She’s proud to wear the flag and she’s going to do everything she can to put on a show.”

McIntosh is joined by 17 Canadians who make up a strong team with depth and talent including Kylie Masse, Sydney Pickrem, Penny Oleksiak and Mary-Sophie Harvey. Fifteen out of the 18 swimmers on the roster competed on the Paris team that won eight medals.

Oleksiak is returning to the short course world championships for the first time in eight years. Not since Windsor in December 2016 has Oleskiak competed in this event. She’ll swim in the 50m and 100m freestyle as well as relays.

“If you told me you’d tell me I’d be back here I would have said I’ll be retired by then. I was so set on being retired in 2024. I would not have expected to be here,” Oleksiak said. 

“My expectations are low. Maybe my expectations could be higher because I’m feeling pretty good in the water right now.”

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On the men’s side the Canadians are anchored by the surging swimmer Ilya Khuran. The 19-year-old is brimming with confidence after winning two bronze butterfly medals at the Olympics and he has had a blistering start to the NCAA season. 

Kharun is the Canadian record holder in all three short course butterfly distances and has great expectations for competition in Budapest; he believes he can sweep the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly events.

“I’m going to be 20 soon and I have set my mark. It’s time. I’m coming and I have to set my time. These events are going to be mine,” Kharun said. “I will show everyone what I can do. I have a lot of power. I think I’m at an advantage here.”

He’s eyeing Swiss swimmer Noè Ponti’s 50m fly world record that was set last month. 

“I’m coming for Ponti’s world record and I’m going to beat it,” Kharun said. “Gold medals are one thing. I want to win every event. And Ponti’s record. Those are the goals for this meet. I’m definitely within reach for Ponti’s record.”

While Kharun wants to rack up more individual medals, Mary-Sophie Harvey is looking for her first individual podium finish after years of trying to get there. She’ll be busy having entered in five different events at worlds. 

“I’m not afraid to say it now. I can finally say I want to step on that podium. To say that at 25 years old is kind of crazy,” Harvey said.

• Canada’s Ilya Kharun earns bronze in men’s 200m butterfly final

“It felt so unattainable for so many years and I can dream those dreams again. I believe in myself.”

Harvey is coming off two fourth-place finishes in Paris and is using that experience to fuel her training for this meet.

“I felt fired up after the Olympics. I’m more at peace and more myself than I’ve ever been,” Harvey said. “I’m one of the oldest on the team now. I want to inspire people to dream even if they’re in their 20s.”

Swimming Canada high performance director John Atkinson says these short course worlds signal the start of a new Olympic cycle and getting off to a good start is important.

“This is the first event in the quad to L.A. We’re starting out again. They love swimming in Budapest. It’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere,” he said. “We have depth and good young athletes coming through. I’d say it’s a reset to what’s coming to what’s ahead. We’re not looking back, we’re looking forward.”