'I'm the hunted': Summer McIntosh's record-breaking week puts competitors on notice ahead of worlds

It would beryllium easy, astatine 18 years old, to fto each that spotlight, the headlines, the attention, get to one's head. 

Not Summer McIntosh.

She's coming disconnected an unforgettable Canadian swimming trials successful Victoria that saw her interruption 3 satellite records, and station Canadian records successful 2 different events. Each aquatics was a idiosyncratic champion for her.

She broke the 400m freestyle, 400m idiosyncratic medley and 200m idiosyncratic medley satellite records. She clocked the third-fastest 800m freestyle clip ever and the second-fastest 200m butterfly clip ever.

After receiving her golden medal and a stuffed carnal astatine the adjacent of each triumph ceremonial passim 1 of the top meets by an idiosyncratic in history, McIntosh rapidly worked her mode implicit to young kids successful the stands — she'd archetypal propulsion her stuffy into the assemblage and past springiness her golden medal away.

That's right, McIntosh gave each 5 of her record-setting golden medals distant to young kids who were gobsmacked by their sporting hero, and a once-in-a-lifetime keepsake. 

WATCH | Summer McIntosh connected the interaction she is having:

Humble. Kind. Seeing the bigger representation successful her infinitesimal of excellence.

"Seeing the absorption of the small girls and boys, it's 10 times amended than maine keeping them successful a representation box," McIntosh said. "I'm lone going to look astatine that truthful often. I'd alternatively springiness them distant and dispersed the joy. They're going to cherish it. It's bully to beryllium capable to animate and observe with them. That's the slightest I tin do.""

It wasn't each that agelong agone McIntosh was connected the excavation platform astatine the Pan Am Sports Centre taking a photograph with Penny Oleksiak, 1 of Canada's astir decorated Olympians, arsenic Oleksiak got acceptable to spell to the Rio Olympics and McIntosh dreamed of 1 time possibly going to a Games herself. 

Fast-forward a fewer years later, Oleksiak has present gone to 3 Olympics and McIntosh two, and they are some portion of a squad of 26 swimmers who volition correspond Canada astatine the satellite championships this summertime successful Singapore. 

WATCH | CBC Sports' The Ready Room wraps the week astatine trials:

McIntosh volition beryllium the overwhelming favourite to bring location three, four, possibly adjacent 5 golden medals — she has been precise wide she wants to triumph 5 golden medals astatine the L.A. 2028 Olympics, truthful these satellite championships statesman that pursuit. 

There's a tantalizing showdown betwixt McIntosh and Ledecky brewing successful the 800m freestyle lawsuit that Ledecky has held the satellite grounds for 12 years. McIntosh is closing successful connected it. 

After what she calls the top conscionable to day successful her career, McIntosh is being talked astir successful the aforesaid condemnation arsenic greats similar Michael Phelps and Ledecky; she has a feline named Mikey, aft Phelps, and utilized to enactment Ledecky quotes connected her partition successful her room.

Now she's drafting comparisons to them.  

"These past 5 days person been perfectly wild. This is astir apt the champion conscionable of my career. It'll instrumentality a fewer days to process," she said. 

Many are calling her 1 of the astir ascendant Canadian athletes successful history. 

"I can't digest that astatine all. I inactive haven't truly digested the Olympics and being an Olympian. To cognize that I person truthful galore Canadians supporting maine means the implicit satellite to me. Anytime I get to deterioration the Canadian emblem to effort to deterioration it with pridefulness and marque my state proud," she said. 

"We tin consciousness the enactment and we'll consciousness that enactment successful Singapore."

McIntosh has spent overmuch of this twelvemonth grooming successful France nether the guidance of French Olympic manager Fred Vergnoux. She credits him for a batch of the occurrence she was capable to execute passim her 5 events.

WATCH | McIntosh shatters records astatine trials:

"Fred is the champion of the best. I perfectly emotion him. We person truthful overmuch amusive together. We bonded really, truly quickly. He's pushed maine truthful acold and taught maine truthful much," she said. "He's a genius erstwhile it comes to swimming and I cognize I tin spot him."

Vergnoux was successful Victoria connected the excavation platform for each history-making second and was speedy to supply immoderate position astatine the adjacent of McIntosh's meet.

"She's making things wholly bonzer look mean and we request to marque definite radical cognize that this is not normal," Vergnoux said. "Summer is successful a antithetic league. I've coached a batch of swimmers but I've ne'er seen idiosyncratic similar her. She's unique. She's precise peculiar and truthful focused and precise professional. And she knows what she wants."

What she wants is to beryllium considered 1 of the champion to ever bash it. And she's afloat acceptable to measurement into her superpower, much assured than ever.

"I'm not the chaser anymore, I'm the hunted," she said. "I deliberation I'm astatine a constituent wherever I'm truly assured successful myself. I wouldn't accidental the archetypal satellite grounds was a fluke but it was a astonishment for sure. I didn't deliberation I would execute it but present I cognize successful my grooming I tin propulsion the boundaries of the sport."

It would person been casual for McIntosh to fto disconnected the state aft winning 3 golden medals past summertime successful Paris, and past wracking up much golden and satellite records astatine the abbreviated people satellite championships successful Budapest this past December. 

WATCH | Penny Oleksiak connected learning to emotion swimming again:

But she hasn't stopped. There's a burning tendency that keeps her going — and immoderate unfinished concern too.

"Olympics, the extremity was 4 golds and I didn't scope that truthful I was bare for much and that truly kept maine motivated heading into this season," she said.

Remarkably, McIntosh says each 1 of her record-breaking performances during trials could person been better. She's rewatched each race, cautiously studying the hundredths of 2nd mislaid present and there. 

"The athletes who interruption satellite records are beauteous aforesaid captious and I deliberation that's what keeps maine pushing forward," she said. "I don't deliberation there's specified a happening arsenic a cleanable race. I haven't done it yet. The 400m freestyle was adjacent arsenic it gets. I cognize I tin get truthful overmuch stronger. I deliberation my turns tin ever beryllium better."

She's not lone a Canadian superstar, she's a planetary powerhouse now. The eyes of the swimming satellite were wholly fixated connected Commonwealth Place each clip McIntosh took to the water.

John Atkinson, high-performance manager for Swimming Canada, said it continues to beryllium an bonzer clip for swimming successful this country. 

"She deserves each the credit. We person a superstar jock and we've had quality stories tally crossed Canada, nationalist broadcasts repeatedly connected the hour, this is groundbreaking for the sport," helium said. 

And McIntosh is lone getting started. A time aft breaking her 3rd satellite grounds successful 5 days, she was backmost successful the excavation — a double, 2 grooming sessions. Relentless. Focused. Always pushing. 

Because she knows the kids are watching.