"Awesome"- Alex Walsh makes her feelings known on competing in "Summer McIntosh" era after losing to Canadian at World Championships

Alex Walsh has hailed Summer McIntosh’s talent and competitive spirit after the 200m Individual Medley at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. McIntosh delivered a composed performance, taking gold in the event with a time of 2:06.69. Walsh finished second in 2:08.58, with Mary-Sophie Harvey coming in third at 2:09.15.

With this 200m IM podium finish, Walsh became the first American woman to win three World Championship medals in the 200 IM. She had previously won gold in 2022 (Budapest, Hungary) and silver in 2023 (Fukuoka, Japan).

In her post-race interview, Walsh shared how she approached the race against Summer McIntosh. The American swimmer said she expected a fast start from the Canadian, calling it her trademark, and added that McIntosh pushes everyone to be better.

“I knew she was going to be out really fast, that’s her trademark. Obviously very talented, and I enjoy swimming against her, just because I think she makes me better. She makes all of us better on Team USA and just across the world. It’s really awesome that I get to be someone to swim in the Summer era and get to compete against her.” (via Swimswam)

Alex Walsh also said she uses McIntosh’s race strategy to judge where she is during a race and looks to make her move during the breaststroke leg. She added that she’s excited for more races against McIntosh in the future.

After her win, Summer McIntosh invited Harvey to join her on the top step of the podium during the Canadian national anthem.

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Summer McIntosh on winning her second title at World Aquatics Championships

Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships - Day 18: Swimming - Source: Getty

Summer McIntosh claimed her second gold of the championships in the 200m Individual Medley. Earlier, she had won the 400m freestyle title, clocking 3:56.26 and outclassing American swimmer Katie Ledecky.

After winning her second gold, McIntosh said that racing hard against top competitors is what matters most, and she hopes to carry this momentum forward.

“I mean, going in tonight, my goal was to get my head on the wall first, so to get that done is good. I’m not super happy with the time, but honestly, at a world championships, my goal is just to go as fast as I can against my competitors. Still happy with the gold and hoping to keep up my streak next time,” Summer McIntosh said (via Swimswam)

McIntosh has entered five individual events at the championships - the 400m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 200m butterfly, 800m freestyle, and 400m individual medley. She is also part of Canada’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay teams.

Edited by Tushar Bahl