Canadian swim star Summer McIntosh confirms she's joining famed coach Bob Bowman's program

Devin Heroux · CBC Sports

· Posted: May 28, 2025 8:02 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Canadian swimming phenom Summer McIntosh is making it authoritative that pursuing July's satellite swimming championships she'll beryllium moving to Texas to beryllium coached by Bob Bowman, who famously guided American Michael Phelps to a grounds 23 Olympic golden medals.

In an exclusive interrogation with CBC Sports connected the excavation platform astatine Toronto's Pan Am Sports Centre connected Tuesday, McIntosh said  she's committed to Bowman's pro squad successful Austin, Texas and volition beryllium moving determination starting precocious August.

"I deliberation there's a batch of excitement and I deliberation it was thing that astir radical could person guessed adjacent erstwhile I started disconnected conscionable due to the fact that I bash akin events to what Bob coaches," McIntosh said. "Some mightiness accidental it was fundamentally inevitable, but I deliberation present that it's really happening, hopefully radical volition beryllium excited."

Bowman served arsenic a manager connected the U.S. Olympic squad from 2004-2016, and was caput manager astatine Arizona State University from 2015 to 2024. The 59-year-old moved to the U of Texas past twelvemonth and leads what is wide regarded arsenic the apical grooming radical successful the world, including Frenchman Leon Marchand, who won 4 golden medals successful Paris past summer, and American stars Regan Smith and Simone Manuel.

In a February interrogation with CBC Sports, McIntosh said she was leaving Sarasota and hinted astatine this being her adjacent move, but that she wanted to sojourn the University of Texas, wherever Bowman leads the aquatics programme and besides runs a nonrecreational program, to get a amended consciousness of if she would acceptable in. 

WATCH | McIntosh joins CBC Sports to sermon grooming with Bob Bowman:

McIntosh is present acceptable to marque the leap, wherever she volition beryllium swimming with Bowman's nonrecreational programme alternatively than the NCAA. 

"Bob has been perfectly unthinkable passim the full process, and I knew that astatine immoderate constituent I was going to marque the move, truthful him making it truthful casual and being truthful welcoming, I'm truly excited for adjacent season," she said.

McIntosh, 18, has a extremity of 5 idiosyncratic golden medals astatine the L.A. 2028 Olympics and feels moving to Bowman, a manager who knows however to navigate aggravated idiosyncratic programs, gives her the champion accidental of doing that. 

In Paris past summer, McIntosh became the archetypal Canadian jock ever to triumph 3 Olympic golden medals astatine 1 Games.

"Michael Phelps is the top of each clip and helium was perfectly incredible, and Bob not lone created Michael but truthful galore different astonishing swimmers arsenic well, truthful it conscionable shows the consistency of his coaching and his craft, and it gives maine a batch of confidence," McIntosh said.  "I cognize I tin spot him wholeheartedly with my training.

"I person truly large goals and I cognize that helium tin lucifer that with the enactment that helium gives maine and each of his things that helium knows. I tin spell into a programme having afloat assurance successful the grooming I bash time to time and beryllium alongside truthful galore astonishing and like-minded athletes and swimmers."

But earlier she moves to Austin astatine the extremity of August, McIntosh volition beryllium busy. She's presently successful Toronto getting successful immoderate last grooming earlier heading to Victoria adjacent week for the commencement of the Canadian swimming trials, which volition find the swimmers who volition correspond Canada astatine the satellite championships successful Singapore successful precocious July. 

McIntosh has spent the bulk of this year training successful France nether the guidance of French Olympic manager Fred Vergnoux. He is simply a highly accomplished manager who has led swimmers to Olympic golden medals, hundreds of idiosyncratic records and podium finishes. 

McIntosh said she's been thriving successful the highly competitory situation created by Vergnoux astatine the swimming nine successful Antibes. 

"Fred's perfectly amazing. He's truthful comic and he's specified a astute feline arsenic well," she said. "I tin truly spot him with my grooming and the civilization he's created astatine Antibes and the full radical is truthful like-minded. Everyone knows erstwhile they get successful the h2o that he's going to expect your champion and we bring that each azygous time and I deliberation we benignant of provender disconnected each other's energy."

She likes that there's a idiosyncratic attraction Vergnoux brings to his coaching. 

WATCH | McIntosh reflects connected abbreviated people worlds arsenic 'one of the champion meets of my life':

"I deliberation what's truthful astonishing is he's getting to cognize america arsenic swimmers, helium wants to link connected a much idiosyncratic level and person that idiosyncratic narration with each swimmer," McIntosh said. "Which I deliberation is besides truly important to link connected that level emotionally due to the fact that I deliberation swimming is specified a large portion of our lives, but you've got to cognize the full idiosyncratic to cognize however to benignant of grip and physique a narration with them extracurricular of the pool."

McIntosh said Vergnoux volition beryllium successful Victoria coaching her astatine trials and done to the satellite championships. What events she intends to vie successful astatine worlds this upcoming July is inactive not afloat wide astatine this point. 

She has confirmed 4 of the 5 events; the 400m freestyle, 200m and 400m idiosyncratic medleys and 200m butterfly events are locked in, but the 5th and last lawsuit of her programme inactive remains a mystery.

McIntosh volition beryllium listed successful each of the aforementioned events astatine trials successful Victoria. She's besides entered successful the 800m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 200m backstroke, though it's improbable she volition aquatics successful each of those events.

"I'm not precisely definite what I'm going to bash yet, but those are benignant of successful my apical 3 close now," she said. 

McIntosh said she has been adding much region grooming to her programme successful the leadup to trials, possibly suggesting the 800m freestyle is apt her 5th event. 

WATCH | 'She's being truthful dramatic': Summer McIntosh races precocious diver Molly Carlson:

"You request to person a precise beardown aerobic basal to get you done time eight, time nine, and things similar that. I'm decidedly implementing much region into my grooming and the French program's besides similar that, truthful decidedly bash much mileage and worldly similar that."

Canadian swimming trials tally June 7-12 and McIntosh volition beryllium competing each time of the event, opening with the 400m freestyle and 200m IM connected opening day. 

More than anything, she's looking guardant to seeing acquainted faces connected a Canadian swimming squad continuing to marque waves connected the planetary scene.

"Team Canada and Swimming Canada is specified a family. All the swimmers are ace adjacent connected the team, and I deliberation that's what makes america thrive truthful well," McIntosh said. "We person specified bully squad camaraderie that it truly helps america successful hard moments and truly astonishing moments due to the fact that we ever enslaved successful those kinds of situations."