Summer McIntosh: World champion... keepin' it real in grade 11.

Summer and Brooke McIntosh’s parents have a good problem brewing. October 28 to 30th, Skate Canada International will likely see Brooke figure skating on one side of the Greater Toronto Area, and on the exact same days, Summer will likely be tearing up the pool in World Cup races on the opposite side of town. Scheduling headaches are part of the price to be paid when raising two high performance athletes. Luckily- as Summer makes clear, sibling rivalry will not add fuel to a fraught parental weekend. The McIntosh sisters are fantastically competitive young women, but they are also each other’s biggest boosters.

Summer caught up with Anastasia from Florida, where she and her training partners were spared the worst of Hurricane Ian’s destruction. The swimmers have pitched in to help clear downed trees and debris around the pool facilities and community, but in the meantime, it’s 100% back to the business of training for McIntosh. Well, almost 100%. There’s also grade eleven assignments taking up any spare minutes to be had in the long day. Considering her ranking- number three in the world among female swimmers, it’s easy to forget that Summer McIntosh is still just 16 years old. Without harping on her age- because what teen wants to be constantly reminded of their youthfulness? – Anastasia and Summer have a slightly surreal conversation about being an experienced Olympian at the age of 14. You know you are young if you happened to be eight years old when you watched Penny Oleksiak swim in Rio. Now that they are teammates- it’s the older Oleksiak’s turn to be in awe of so much speed in so few years.

It’s impossible not to worry a little when we see huge success coming to a young athlete, but as this engaging conversation makes clear- Summer McIntosh is as level-headed as they come. Being the youngest world champion in a decade might really truly only be the beginning for Summer McIntosh. She likes the longer distances…and typically, performances in endurance events only get better with age.