Summer McIntosh: Canada's 14-year-old swimming sensation qualifies for Tokyo 2020 

Summer McIntosh. Remember the name.

On Sunday (20 June), the 14-year-old from Toronto touched the wall in 1:56.19 to win the 200m freestyle final of the Canadian Olympic swimming trials. In doing, she also beat Olympic gold medallist and record holder Penny Oleksiak, who finished the race over a second behind in 1:57.24.

Oleksiak, who is no stranger to the pressures that come with being a swimming prodigy having become her country's youngest Olympic champion at Rio 2016, was full of praise for the young McIntosh: "I love Summer. I hate training with Summer... I know she has the gas on and it's all gas, no brakes with her."

McIntosh's time was also the fastest 15 and under 200m freestyle time in history and obliterated her pre-trials personal best of 1:57.65. For comparison, the fastest time by a U.S. swimmer of the same age is 1:58.53, set in 1978 by future Olympic silver medallist, Sippy Woodhead.

Now, with Tokyo 2020 just over a month away, McIntosh has the chance to lower her record even further, as her 15th birthday falls just after the Games on 18 August.

Swimming in the genes

As the daughter of Canadian Olympian Jill Horstead, who swam for her country as a 17-year-old at Los Angeles 1984 and is a former All-American swimmer, McIntosh has a strong athletic pedigree.

“She’s free-spirited and what impresses me is her mix of talent and hard work,” Horstead said in an interview published in Swim Ontario. “The work ethic is much more than just talent and with that, there is no end to her excelling.”

The benefits of having an Olympian mother go further than just genetic advantages. Aside from having free access to her mother's expert advice, the family have a pool at home that is heated during the winter so Summer can continue to train all year-round.

And Summer is not the only talented teenager in the family. Her 16-year-old sister, Brooke finished fourth in pairs at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics and 10th at the 2019 World Junior Championships.

Penny Oleksiak: Olympic champ to line up next to McIntosh in Tokyo

While Oleksiak came second to McIntosh during yesterday's final, the 21-year-old will compete alongside her in Tokyo, having already booked her spot following her sixth-place finish at the 2019 World Championships. And McIntosh is grateful for all the opportunities she has to learn from the Olympic champion.

"She's just been so awesome and motivating and it's such an incredible opportunity that I get to swim with her every day," said McIntosh, while Oleksiak was equally effusive in her description of her young teammate, saying: "I love her work ethic. She's really strong in and out of the pool mentally. I just love her. Honestly, she's so cute."

While Oleksiak was pre-selected for the 200m freestyle that isn't the case for the 100m, which will take place on Tuesday. And she will need to be back to her mesmerising best to secure her 100m free berth, having stated that she "wasn't as prepared for the final as I wanted to be" after swimming the prelims and finals of the 200m freestyle in the same day.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic swimming competition begins on 24 July 2021.