Summer McIntosh, 17, of Canada, defeated Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle at the Southern Zone South Sectional Championships in Orlando on Thursday night, snapping the American’s 13-year unbeaten streak in the event. McIntosh set a national record of 8:11.39, besting Ledecky’s time of 8:17.12. Brittany MacLean set the previous Canadian record of 8:20.19.
Ledecky was the three-time defending Olympic 800m champion and has the top 29 times in her race, while McIntosh’s time is the 17th fastest ever. The 26-year-old American swimmer set the 800m world mark in 2013 and has broken it four times since, the most recent being of 8:04.79 at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Ledecky will attempt to win her fourth consecutive 800m freestyle gold medal, making her the first female swimmer to do so.
The Canadian teenager is also a world record holder in the 400m individual medley, and she is now the second-fastest woman in history in the 400m free and 800m free.