16-Year-Old Swimming Phenom Pulls Off Remarkable Upset Of Katie Ledecky For First Time In Nine Years

You probably haven’t heard the name Summer McIntosh.

That’s okay. Out of the world of diehard swimming fans, no one really has.

But you likely have heard the name Katie Ledecky.

Ledecky is one of the world’s most dominant athletes, regardless of gender. The 25-year-old already boasts seven Olympic gold medals and 17 World Championships gold medals, the latter of which is the most in history for a female swimmer.

She holds the world’s fastest times the women’s 800 and 1500-meter freestyle and is generally considered the standard bearer right now in women’s swimming.

But it appears no one told that to McIntosh, a 16-year-old from Toronto, Canada.

McIntosh snapped Ledecky’s nine-year win streak in the United States on Friday when she topped the phenom in the 200-meter freestyle as a Pro Series meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

She won the race in a time of  1:54.13, nearly a full second clear of Ledecky a,nd lowered her world junior record set at last year’s world championships in the process.

The soft-spoken teenager didn’t have much to say after the shocking upset.

“I’m really happy with that swim,” McIntosh, who became the ninth fastest woman in history in the event, told Peacock. “It hurt really bad.” – via ESPN

But she did take the time to praise the American star.

It’s not the first time Ledecky has lost. After a seemingly difficult lead up to the Tokyo Olympics, she then went out and dominated in both the 800 and 1500 to win gold. And the shorter race is far from her forte.

But the victory says a lot about the young upstart Canadian and what a bright future she appears to have.

McIntosh looks to be the top competitor for Australian Ariarne Titmus, the reigning 200-meter Olympic champion, at next year’s Summer Olympics in Paris.