Summer McIntosh missed the 400-meter freestyle final at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, after finishing ninth in the Friday morning heats with a time of 4 minutes, 8.56 seconds, according to reporting by The New York Times. The 19-year-old Canadian world record-holder finished more than 14 seconds off her benchmark time of 3:54.18, resulting in qualification for the B final instead of the championship race.
Morning Heat Disappointment in Irvine
The preliminary swim left McIntosh out of the primary medal race for one of the meet’s most anticipated events. According to The New York Times, China’s 15-year-old Fan Yaqi beat McIntosh to the finish in their morning heat. McIntosh did not speak to reporters in the mixed zone following the race, but later addressed the result on Instagram. According to The New York Times, McIntosh posted that she takes “full responsibility for my misjudgment in this morning’s heats” and confirmed she would swim in the B final.
The missed qualification stands as an unexpected hurdle at the major international meet, which brings together top swimmers from non-European nations. McIntosh entered the 400m freestyle as the defending world champion and the world record holder, holding expectations of a three-way battle for gold alongside American freestyle great Katie Ledecky and Australian competitor Lani Pallister, as reported by Yahoo Sports.
Top Seeds Advance to the Final
With McIntosh absent from the evening lineup, the gold medal race shaped up around Ledecky and Pallister. According to The New York Times, Ledecky secured the top seed entering the Friday night final by clocking a 4:03.48 in the morning prelims. Pallister advanced with the fourth-quickest morning time.
“It’s not every meet where we get a chance to race like this; it’s really just about once a year,” Ledecky said after her morning swim, according to The New York Times. “Just excited for the opportunity, and hopefully we can all push each other to some great times tonight.”
Pallister entered the Pan Pacific Championships following strong performances earlier in the week, including a gold medal in the 200m freestyle and a silver medal behind Ledecky in the 1,500m freestyle, according to Yahoo Sports. Australian Erika Fairweather and American Kennedi Dobson rounded out the top qualification spots, advancing as the second- and third-fastest prelims swimmers to challenge for medals in the evening session, as noted by The New York Times.
Mixed Results Across the Meet
The Pan Pacific Championships presented a varied schedule for McIntosh, who trains with the University of Texas pro group. Before the 400m freestyle heats, McIntosh placed second behind Pallister in the 200m freestyle after dropping her signature 200m butterfly event to focus on the distance, and she earned a bronze medal as part of Canada’s 4x200m freestyle relay team, according to The New York Times and Yahoo Sports.
On Thursday, McIntosh rebounded to win the 400m individual medley and shatter the championship record with a time of 4:28.01. Despite the victory, McIntosh expressed dissatisfaction with her performance in quotes reported by The New York Times, stating, “I should be capable of more based off my training.”