Summer McIntosh’s pursuit of five individual gold medals at the 2028 Summer Olympics has hit a snag due to a recent change in scheduling for the upcoming Summer Games. The alteration has led to scheduling conflicts that will impact the Canadian swimming sensation’s event selection.
One significant change involves the women’s 200m butterfly and 800m freestyle events being scheduled back-to-back on the final day of swimming competition. This adjustment effectively rules out McIntosh’s participation in the 800m freestyle event, despite her strong performance and potential for a shot at gold in Los Angeles.
McIntosh, a 19-year-old from Toronto and a three-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion in the 200m butterfly, recorded the second-fastest time ever in the women’s 800m freestyle at the Canadian trials in June.
Byron MacDonald, the head swimming coach at the University of Toronto, expressed that while the schedule change doesn’t hinder McIntosh’s goal of aiming for five gold medals in L.A., it does shift the focus to her likely participation in the 200m freestyle event as her fifth competition.
McIntosh is expected to compete in the 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, and 400m freestyle events. Her other potential options, the 800m freestyle and 200m backstroke, have conflicts with her other medal event attempts. MacDonald highlighted that the 800m freestyle, in particular, presents an impossible double with the 200m butterfly.
According to a tentative projection by CBC Sports, McIntosh’s lineup for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles may include the following events:
– Day 1: 400m freestyle final
– Day 2: Off
– Day 3: 400m individual medley final
– Day 4: 200m freestyle semifinal
– Day 5: 200m freestyle final
– Day 6: 200m individual medley semifinal
– Day 7: 200m individual medley final
– Day 8: 200m butterfly semifinal
– Day 9: 200m butterfly final
In a separate development, the 2028 Summer Games will see women’s 100m sprinters kick off the action instead of swimmers. The opening day at the LA Coliseum on July 15 will feature all three rounds of the women’s 100 meters, providing a unique start to the Games. This scheduling change was made due to logistical reasons related to the opening ceremony taking place at SoFi Stadium, which prevented the immediate setup of the swimming pool after the ceremony.