SwimSwam McIntosh Marvels In Toronto, Cal Five-Peats At Pac-12s & Westmont PSS

McIntosh Rips 4:29 400 IM: Amidst the flurry of swims coming out of men's Pac-12s and the Westmont PSS, 15-year-old Summer McIntosh stole everyone's attention by becoming the third-fastest swimmer in history in the 400 IM at a Canadian World Trials prep meet in Toronto.

Also: Cal men come from behind to win a fifth straight Pac-12 title, Claire Curzan highlights the Westmont Pro Swim, and Jeremy Kipp resigns as the head coach of USC.

McIntosh Rockets To #3 All-Time In 400 IM

Rising Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh has asserted herself as a legitimate gold medal contender at the upcoming World Championships in Budapest, launching up the all-time rankings in the women's 400 IM on Friday in a time of 4:29.12.

Competing at the Canadian World Trials Prep Event in Toronto, the 15-year-old dropped an astonishing 21 seconds off her best time coming into the meet (she went 4:37 in prelims) to shatter the Commonwealth, Canadian and World Junior Records in the event.

McIntosh now trails only Katinka Hosszu (4:26.36) and Ye Shiwen (4:28.43) in the all-time rankings, and was notably almost three seconds faster than what Japan's Yui Ohashi went to win Olympic gold last summer (4:32.08).

McIntosh followed up by lowering the Canadian and World Junior Record in the 200 butterfly, clocking 2:05.81 to crush her previous best of 2:13.58.

Also breaking a Canadian Record during the competition was backstroke ace Kylie Masse, who twice shaved time off her mark in the women's 50 back, ultimately finishing in a time of 27.52.

Cal Men Erase Diving Deficit To Win Fifth Straight Pac-12 Title

The Cal Golden Bears started the swimming competition of the 2022 Men's Pac-12 Championships with a 133-point deficit to rival Stanford, with the diving portion of the meet having been wrapped up before anyone stepped onto the blocks.

The Bears slowly but surely clawed their way back into the title race, and on the final night of competition, secured four event wins to ultimately win the championship by 93.5 points over the Cardinal. The win was Cal's fifth in a row.

Sophomore Bjorn Seeliger led the charge for Cal with three individual wins in the 50 free (18.84), 100 free (41.51) and 100 back (44.72), while Reece Whitley, Trenton Julian and Destin Lasco secured one individual win apiece.

Joining Seeliger by scoring the maximum 60 points was Arizona State freshman Leon Marchand, who swept his individual events with wins in the 200 breast (1:50.39), 200 IM (1:39.65) and 400 IM (3:34.45), with the latter making him the second-fastest swimmer of all-time. Fellow Sun Devil Grant House had a massive performance in the 200 free, winning in a time (1:30.23) that ranks him #6 in history, and he added two runner-up finishes to rank third overall with 54 points.

Team Scores

1. Cal, 853.5
2. Stanford, 760.0
3. Arizona State, 652.0
4. USC, 449.0
5. Arizona, 423.5
6. Utah, 264.0

Curzan, El Kamash Win Four Events Apiece At Westmont Pro Swim

The majority of the U.S. National Team was in action over the weekend for the first Pro Swim Series meet of 2022 in Westmont, Illinois.

Less than a month after breaking an American Record in the short course pool, 17-year-old Claire Curzan stole the show by winning four individual events in the 50 free (24.59), 100 fly (56.89), 100 back (58.94), 200 back (2:07.31). While only the 200 back was a PB, all four move her up in the all-time 17-18 age group rankings, since her bests were set while she was 16. The 100 fly is her highest ranking, moving up to #2 all-time behind American Record holder Torri Huske (55.66).

Katie Ledecky (400/800/1500 free), Hali Flickinger (200 fly, 400 IM) and Leah Hayes (200 free, 200 IM) joined Curzan with multiple victories on the women's side, with Hayes' 200 IM time of 2:11.22 ranking her #4 all-time in the girls' 15-16 age group.

On the men's side, joining Curzan with four wins was Indiana Swim Club's Marwan El Kamash, who swept the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle events.

Also picking up multiple victories was Michael Andrew (50 free, 100 breast, 100 fly) and Ryan Murphy (100/200 back).

Meet results can be found here.

Jeremy Kipp Resigns As Head Coach of USC

Jeremy Kipp officially resigned from his position as the head swimming and diving coach at USC on Sunday.

Kipp was placed on administrative leave dating in October 2021 after allegations surfaced that he kicked a water bottle that struck a swimmer in the face. USC conducted a nearly five-month-long investigation into the incident. A source familiar with the investigation says that USC interviewed 12 swimmers who were present on the day of the alleged incident, and none told investigators that they saw a water bottle in the pool or strike a swimmer.

“Due to the difficulty of these last few months, I have informed athletic director Mike Bohn that I believe it is best for me to separate from the program at this time," Kipp said, according to the USC press release.

In his only full season as the Trojans head coach (2020-21), Kipp led the women’s team to a fourth-place finish at Pac-12s and the men's team to a fifth-place showing.

Lea Maurer, who has been acting as head coach of the program since Kipp went on leave, will continue to lead the program in the interim before a full-time head coach is named.

Quick Hits

• The pre-selection psych sheets for men's NCAAs were released on Tuesday morning, which you can find here. Official psych sheets will be published on Wednesday.
• The official psychs for women's NCAAs, which are now just over a week away, can be found here. Keep track of all of SwimSwam's picks for the meet here.
• Swimming Canada Coach of the Year Ben Titley is out as the head coach of the High Performance Centre – Ontario, with Ryan Mallette taking over as head coach. Titley coached the majority of Canada's top swimmers in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games, and the reason for his departure wasn't entirely clear at the time of his dismissal.
• 13-year-old Charlotte Crush swam a time of 22.14 in the 50 free (SCY) at the Southern Premier Meet in Knoxville, making her the third-fastest ever in the 13-14 age group and the fastest among 13-year-olds.
• Eagle Aquatics swimmer Kaii Winkler became the fastest 15-year-old ever in the men's 100 freestyle (LCM), clocking 50.24 at the Piranhas Senior Invitational in Plantation, Florida.
• USA Swimming shared the steps it took in developing its new athlete transgender policy with SwimSwam, which you can read more about here.
• Ukrainian National Team swim coach Aiyna Morozova had to be dug out of a bomb shelter after a missile hit a building she was volunteering in. Though visibly injured, Morozova told SwimSwam after the attack she was now as safe as possible.

Comeback Complete: Cal Men 5-Peat as Pac-12 Champs After Starting in Last Place

Summer McIntosh Goes 4:29.12 In 400 IM, #3 Performer Of All Time

Jeremy Kipp Resigns as Head Coach of USC Swimming & Diving

2022 Men’s NCAA Championship Pre-Selection Psych Sheets Released

USA Swimming Sheds Light On Process That Led To New Transgender Policy

Canadian Coach of the Year Ben Titley Out at HPC-Ontario

Kaii Winkler Blasts 50.24 LCM 100 free, Fastest American 15-Year Old Ever