Katie Ledecky's nine-year winning streak snapped by Summer McIntosh's record swim
Swimming star Katie Ledecky's nine-year winning streak in the United States was snapped on Friday when Summer McIntosh won the 200-meter freestyle at the 2023 Pro Swim Series meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
McIntosh, 16, beat the seven-time Olympic gold medalist by 0.83 seconds to win the event and bested her own world junior record with a time of 1 minute, 54.13 seconds. With the swim, the Canadian also broke her country's national record.
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"She's an amazing racer and I've always looked up to her," McIntosh said of Ledecky. "She's the greatest freestyler of all time and to be able to race her is always an amazing experience and I've always learned so much."
SHE DID IT AGAIN! 🤯
16-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh breaks the U.S. Open record AND the world junior record again, this time in the women's 200m free. #TYRProSeries pic.twitter.com/QHVuagovxc— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) March 3, 2023
Ledecky's last loss in the United States was in 2014. Allison Schmitt beat her by .05 seconds at the 200-meter freestyle final at the Arena Grand Prix in Austin, Tex. Ledecky was 16.
Later on Friday, Ledecky won the 400-meter individual medley race with a time of 4 minutes, 36.04 seconds, beating second place by seven seconds.
QUEEN KATIE 👑@katieledecky DOMINATES the women's 400m IM by 7 seconds to claim the victory! #TYRProSeries pic.twitter.com/H0LDw33uJ5
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) March 4, 2023
Ledecky and McIntosh are preparing for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Ledecky, who is the most decorated female swimmer in history, has not announced which events she will participate in. The long-distance specialist won gold medals in the 1,500-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle at the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were held in 2021. She made her Olympic debut at the age of 15 at the 2012 London Games where she won the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle. She also has a record 21 medals in the world championships, all but three of which are gold.
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McIntosh made her Olympic debut at the age of 14 at the Tokyo Games where she finished fourth in the 200-meter freestyle. She won her first world championship in June and has broken several records along the way.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Katie Ledecky's nine-year United States winning streak snapped
