Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh, a year after Paris, set to duel at worlds

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One is the most decorated, most celebrated, most everything female swimmer ever to dive into an Olympic-size pool. Her name is known worldwide, and somehow, at 28, Katie Ledecky is showing no signs of slowing down.

The other is a decade younger and somehow making the kind of splash the sport hasn’t seen since, well, Ledecky. Canada’s Summer McIntosh already has scrawled her name across the record books, and most around the pool deck agree her fastest races are still ahead of her.

The two will meet twice in Singapore at the world swimming championships, which start Saturday, including in an 800-meter showdown that is shaping up to be perhaps the most anticipated race of the year.

Almost from the time Ledecky slipped on a pair of swim goggles, the 800 freestyle has been her signature event. She was 15 when she won gold in it at the 2012 London Olympics. The world’s best distance swimmers have been left gurgling in her wake ever since.

Ledecky has never lost an 800 race in a major meet. Heading into this year, she owned 19 of the 20-fastest 800 times; had set or lowered the world record six times, after breaking it for the first time as a 16-year-old phenom in 2013; and won the past seven world titles and four Olympic golds in the 800. She surprised many in the swimming world when she lowered the record again in May, posting a time of 8 minutes 4.12 seconds at a meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

But McIntosh, the all-around dynamo who won three gold medals at last summer’s Paris Games, decided to formally add the 800 to her program this year, and she already has made clear to the world she will be a formidable challenger to Ledecky’s dominance – and, just maybe, the 800 record.

Barely one month after Ledecky set the Fort Lauderdale pool on fire, McIntosh put up the third-fastest 800 time in Victoria, British Columbia, turning in an 8:05.07 finish at the Canadian trials, nearly five seconds faster than her previous best.

Both swimmers have a busy week ahead in Singapore, but the 800 final next Saturday will draw the brightest spotlight. Rarely is Ledecky pushed to the final wall, and rarely is McIntosh the chaser.

“I think it’s always nicer to have someone right beside you,” McIntosh told reporters this month. “It gives you that extra motivation.”

Both swimmers will open the championships with qualifying heats in the 400 free Sunday morning (Saturday night Eastern time), with the finals scheduled for that evening. There was a time Ledecky dominated that distance, too, winning gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and four world titles between 2013 and 2022. But both Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and McIntosh have surpassed Ledecky’s world record from 2016. McIntosh posted a time of 3:54.18 at last month’s Canadian trials, one of three world records she broke there.

While the 24-year-old Titmus is skipping these world championships, saying she’s focusing her attention on the 2028 Olympics, Ledecky is certainly still a podium favorite in the 400. She posted a time of 3:56.81 in May, which was her fastest 400 time in nearly nine years and the eighth-fastest ever.

“Anytime I get to race Katie, it’s a learning experience, and it’s always a good race,” McIntosh said. “I’m really excited to match up with her again in Singapore in the 400 free and the 800. … I think we bring the best out of each other.”

One advantage for Ledecky in Singapore: McIntosh is swimming both the 400 and the 200 individual medley in the same session, a grueling double, mentally and physically.

Ledecky, meanwhile, is not expected to tackle any doubles at these world championships. Her program is identical to the one she swam at the Paris Games: 400 free, 1,500 free, 4×200 freestyle relay and the 800 free.

“Things are clicking with my stroke,” Ledecky told reporters at the U.S. trials in June. “I’ve got a lot of confidence. Training has been going really well. Consistency on all fronts has led to this.”

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Even as younger swimmers have emerged to top her best times in the 200 and 400 free, Ledecky has remained unbeatable at the longest distances. She has lowered the 1,500 record six times and has posted the event’s 23 fastest times. In Fort Lauderdale, she turned in a 15:24.51 finish, the second-best ever and her fastest mark in seven years.

The Singapore competition is Ledecky’s seventh world championship, more than any other U.S. swimmer. With 21 world titles, she is already the most decorated female swimmer of all time. While Michael Phelps has 26 golds in his career, Ledecky has more individual titles – 16 to 15 – and looks to add to that total in Singapore.

Entering her third world championships, McIntosh, in many ways, is still getting started. She has established herself as the best female all-around swimmer, winning both medley races in Paris, and after these world championships she is moving to Texas, where she will begin training with Bob Bowman, Phelps’s former coach, to prepare for the Los Angeles Games.

She has made clear she wants to build on her Paris program, and the 800 could represent her best chance at a fifth individual event.

McIntosh competed in the 800 at the Tokyo Olympics when she was 14 but failed to reach the final. The 800 mostly fell off her race program, but then McIntosh made waves when she beat Ledecky in an 800 race in February 2024 at an under-the-radar meet in Orlando. It was Ledecky’s first 800 loss since 2010, when she was 13. McIntosh opted against competing in the 800 in Paris, though, because it conflicted with the 200 IM.

While McIntosh acknowledges the 800 clash with Ledecky in Singapore “will be really awesome,” she’s hesitant to declare the race a permanent part of her program. She said it’s still not a sure thing as she considers her 2028 targets.

There is still a lot of time before Los Angeles – and for McIntosh, that probably means more medals and more records.

“I think the fun part of the sport is not knowing how fast you’re going to swim at a meet. Those unknowns are really fun,” McIntosh said. “I’m feeling really strong in training. Basically, all the work is done at this point.”

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