October 2009, China’s Liu Zige broke Jessicah Schipper’s time in the 200m butterfly and reclaimed it for herself. It was the fourth time someone broke the 200m fly time in eighteen months, and it would also be the last time, for a while. Then, a 17-year-old Summer McIntosh made history in the 200m fly at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the second-fastest ever. A year later, the Olympian moved to Texas to be coached by Michael Phelps’ longtime coach Bob Bowman, and now she’s broken swimming’s longest-standing record.

The performance has stunned the world of swimming, with everyone in awe of what Summer McIntosh has just done. The teenager clocked 2:01.65 on day one of the 2026 Canadian Swimming Trials, cutting down Zige’s record by 0.16 seconds. In fact, she cut down her own Canadian record by 0.34 seconds, set during the 2025 World Championships.

McIntosh is barely 19 and already a superstar. She set the second-fastest time at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has since lowered it three times. All three times happened in 2025, with her falling just short of the record. During the trials, though, everything came together perfectly for the four-time Olympic medalist.

She flew out of the blocks, clocking 27.45 in the first 50m, gaining more than a body-length lead over second-place Mary-Sophie Harvey. In fact, by the time she hit the wall for the first 50m, Summer McIntosh was over a second ahead. That trend didn’t stop as she extended her lead going into the 100m (30.76) and then the 150m (31.52) before slowing down.

Even then, the Canadian teenager held strong and finished with 31.92 to take over Liu Zige’s record. It marks the ninth world record to her name, with six of those coming in the long-course. Of those six, three still stand: the 200m and 400m individual medleys, as well as the 400m freestyle, which she set in 2025.

However, the 200m fly has been her specialty event ever since she started swimming, and it’s the one record that has eluded her. To be fair, that’s the one record nobody thought McIntosh would get, even after the Canadian came within 0.18 seconds of it in 2025.

After all, when Zige set the time, she did it during the age of the super-suits. The now-banned polyurethane suits helped swimmers, including Michael Phelps, take down over 100 world records between 2008 and 2009.

The world governing body, FINA, banned the suits from January 2010, a year after Zige set the 200 m butterfly record. Now, thanks to McIntosh, only four records remain from the super-suit era, all in the men’s category.

Meanwhile, the longest-standing women’s swimming record dates back to 2014. That was when Sarah Sjöström set the 50m butterfly mark, a time that has yet to be matched.

For McIntosh, though, the significance of the swim stretched far beyond replacing Liu Zige’s name in the record books. After touching the wall, the Canadian opened up on what finally ending the longest-standing women’s world record meant to her.

Summer McIntosh reflects on finally breaking Zige’s record

She was 15 years old when she won her first World Championship gold, and since then, Summer McIntosh has become a bona fide star. The now 19-year-old has won three consecutive World Championships, including four golds in 2025. However, Liu Zige’s record still eluded her even as other world records fell in the teenager’s presence.

She’d come close, though, clocking 2:03.03 to become the second-fastest woman in the 200m butterfly as she soared to an Olympic gold. Not just one, mind you, but three (200m and 400m medley) in Paris alongside a silver in the 400m freestyle. Still, Zige’s record stood despite Summer McIntosh coming closer, breaking her own time three more times in 2025.

That includes a scintillating 2:01.99 swim to win her eighth World Championship gold, bringing her within touching distance of the time. It was largely thanks to a move to Texas, where she began training with Michael Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman. The move worked and the record fell, leaving the teenager emotional.

“As you can see, my emotions, this means the absolute world (to me),” McIntosh said in an interview (via The Athletic). “Growing up, this is the one world record I thought I would never break, and to do it tonight is really special in front of a home crowd. It ​means the absolute world, and I’m in shock right now.”

After all, it’s the record she’s dreamt of breaking from the moment she leapt into the pool. It’s one of the many reasons why the 19-year-old picked swimming over figure skating. Both she and her sister, Brooke, were competitive figure skaters and swimmers. 

But while Brooke picked figure skating, Summer McIntosh picked swimming and broke 50 Canadian national age records as a junior. And still, there was one record she dreamed of.

“That was the one world record I’ve always dreamed of as a kid,” the prodigy added. “In the past few years especially, really wanting to break it. I think it’s so fast, so to now do it is really incredible.” 

The move to Bob Bowman has already rewritten one chapter of swimming history. However, at 19, Summer McIntosh still looks far from finished. Only time will tell how many more records she sets before she retires.