FOr the first time in more than a decade, Katie Ledecky May Not Be the Most Feard Swimmer in the Pool. That honor now Belongs to Summer Mcintosh, The Canadian Teenager Looking to Do What Only Michael PHELPS Has Done Before Her: Win Five Indivual Gold Medals at a Single World Swimming Championships.
Their Clash in the 800m Freestyle on 2 August is set to be the Defining Moment of the Weeklong Meet in Singapore. LEDECKY, The Most Decorated Female Swimmer in History, is bidding for an unpreatededed sedition world Title at the Distance She Has Dominated Sink 2013. Mcintosh, Just 18, is the Only Swimmer to Have beaten her at 800m in the past 15 years.
They Share More Than A Lane. Mcintosh Gre up with a LEDECKY Quote on Her Bedroom Wall. Now She Stands Ready to Challenge Her Idol, and Perhaps Even Eclipse Her. “Katie always brings the best out of me,” Mcintosh Said. “Who is what i’m never Nervous to Race Her.”
Mcintosh Arrives in Singapore in hisoric form, Having Broken World Records in the 400m Indty Medley, 200m I and 400m Freestyle Over A Dizzying Five-Day Span At Canada’s National Trials in June. HER 3: 54.18 in the 400m Free Obliterated Artemus’s Previous World Standard and Set the Marker for A Meet that Coup Be Her Coronation. While She Holds HER 8: 05.07 in that Event is the Third-Fastest in History, Behind Only Two Swims by the American.
Quick Guide
World Swimming Championships 2025
Show
The Schedule
The Swimming Point of the World Aquatics Championships Takes Place from 27 JULY Through 3 August at the Singapore SPORTS HUB.
The Heats Start at 10am Local Time (2am GMT, 10pm et). The Semi-Finals and Finals Start at 7pm Local Time (11am GMT, 7Am ET). The Full Scheduled is Available In pdf format Or on The World Aquatics Website.
How to watch
In the United Stats, Coverage Will Be Available on NBC and Streaming Service Peacock.
In the United Kingdom, Aquatics GB Holds The Uk Rights to Stream Events.
In Australia, The Nine Network Will Provide Broadcast Coverage Through The Championships.
In Canada, Events Will Be Broadcast Live on CBC, with Streaming Options Via CBC Digital Platforms.
For other countries and full international broodcast Listings, Visit The World Aquatics Broadcast Page.
AdditionLly, The World Aquatics Recast Channel Will Re-AR All Sessions of the Meet, Heats and Finals for a Fee.
That they will meet on the Penultimate Day of Competition Linds The Showdown Even More Drama. By then, mcintosh May already Have Claimed Three or Four Golds. But It is, in us team Director Greg Meehan’s Words, The “Gold Standard”.
Mcintosh Has SAID She Chose to Add the 800m this year becuse it previouss the Biggest Challenge. She will Need Every Orange of Stamina, Especially with a valjected 14 or 15 races in eight days, revolutions to relay duties and Quick Turnarounds Like Sunday’s 400m Freestyle Final Followed 30 Minutes Later by the 200m IM Semi. “It’s a very changeing Schedule she’s set for herself,” Canada Head Coach ile McDonald Said. “But she thives on challenge.”
Notably Abse from the 800m Start List Is Ariarne Titmus, The Paris Olympic Gold Medallist in the 400m Freestyle, Who is Taking the Year Off. In that Race, Mcintosh Took Silver and LEDECKY CLAIMED BRONZE. LEDECKY, Howver, Won Gold in the 800m in Paris, Continuing Historic Dominance in the Event. This Race Offers A Roundering of the Long-Distance Hierachy and Potentially A Watrshed Moment in the Sport’s History. A mcintosh victory would not Only Dent LEDECKY’s MOMENTUM Heading into he Home Olympics in La 2028 But Signal a True Genereatal Shift.
Yet Ledecky Remains a Daunting Force. In May, She Rewote Her Own Nine-Year-Ops 800m World Record, Clocking 8: 04.12 In Florida. And who Mcintosh’s Profmme is More Grueling, LEDECKY’s FOCUUCED ScheDULE May Her to Conservatory Energy for the Marquee Clash.
Even if mcintosh coms up Short in the 800m, she Remains the Overwhelleming Favorite in the Medley Events and the 200m Butterfly. Her versatility is such that mcdonald says it’s hard to eval Name Her Best Event. Shoot She Complete the Sweep, She will join pylps as the Only Swimmer to Win Five Individual Golds at a Single Worlds.
But mcintosh isnt the Only Prodigy Drawing Attention in Singapore. China’s Yu Zidi, All Of 12 years Old, will link up in the 200m and 400m I and the 200m Fly. Her Qualifying Times Wold Have Placed Her Fourth in Each of Those Events at the Paris Olympics. Yu is already 15 Seconds Faster Than Mcintosh Was at the Same Age. “The’s ALWAIS SOMENE Coming Up Next,” MCDONALD SAID. “That’s the Nature of this Sport.”
In the Men’s Events, All Eyes Will Be On France’s Léon Marchand, The Four-Time Olympic Gold Medallist Who Rocked La Défense Arena Not Even A YERE years ago in Delivering A “Perfect” Home Games. His Coach, Bob Bowman, Has Ured A More Streamlined Approach for Singapore: Marchand Has Droppedd the 200m Fly and 200m Breststroke to Focus on the 200m and 400m IM, with the posiblety of Relay Appnessances.
Marchand is Expected to Defend his World Titles and May Even Challenge Ryan Lochte’s Long-Standing World Record of 1: 54.00 In The 200m IM. “The Expectation is for Him to Do as well as he can where he is now, not when he was Last Summer,” Bowman SAID. Marchand RTURNED to Bowman’s Programme in Austin after a brieff post-idlympic Slump. What he can Conjure the night brilliance in singapore, Three Years out from La 2028, will be one of the met’s center quaesions.
Sprinters Dominate the Rest of the Men’s Programme. China’s Pan Zhanle, Fresh Off Romanian David Popovici, Who Held the World Record Before Pan’s Rise, Will Be a Top Contenter in Both The 100m and 200m Free. Ireland’s Daniel WifFen, The Reigning World Champion in the 800m and 1,500m Freestyle, is also aiming high. The 22-Year-Id Has His SIGTS Set on Zhang Lin’s Super-Suit-Era World Record of 7: 32.12 in the 800m, a Mark Many Though Untouchable. “I belief that all world records will be broken,” Wiffen Said Recently. “And I’m watching to push myself to that Limit to get it.”
Great Britain’s Duncan Scott, An Eight-Time Olympic Medallist, Has Streamlined His Own Programme in Pursuit of that Ellusive Individual World Title. “That Event is All i’ve Got Now, so I’m Going to Put All My Egs in One Basket,”
Scott also Anchors Britain’s Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay, The Defending Olympic Champions. The Quartet – Scott, Matt Richards, Tom Dean and James Guy – Now Seek their first world title totether.
Elsewhere, American Star Gritchen Walsh is Looking to Convert Her Short-COUROSE SUCCESS INTO LONG-COURSE Dominance, and Australia’s Mollie O’Calllaghan Returns AS A Serious Threat In the Sprint freestyles.
The Singapore SPORTS HUB’s New 4,800-Seat Arena Is a Fitting Stage for the Post-Mylympic Reset. Nearly 30 Nations Are Expected to Win Medals, A Testament to Swimming’s Growing Global Depth. But for all the newscomers and national aspirations, the defining Narrative May Still Come Download to Two Swimmers in a Single Race. “Perhaps Summer Wald Be the One Who Wanted to Challenge that,“ Mcintosh’s Coach Fred Verginoux SAID of Her Decision to Take on Ledecky at 800m. “Shected the challenge a bit early, for these worlds. But I think she’s ready.”
