Summer McIntosh’s pursuit of five individual gold medals at the 2028 Summer Olympics has hit a snag due to a recent change in the event schedule. The alteration has led to scheduling conflicts affecting the Canadian swimming sensation’s competition choices, most notably in the women’s 200m butterfly and 800m freestyle events being back-to-back on the last day of swimming.
Despite being a three-time world champion and the reigning Olympic champion in the 200m butterfly, McIntosh set the second-fastest time ever in the women’s 800m freestyle at the Canadian trials. While the schedule adjustment does not completely derail McIntosh’s goal of winning five gold medals in Los Angeles, it does prompt a shift in focus towards her fifth event, likely the 200m freestyle.
Byron MacDonald, the head swimming coach at the University of Toronto, commented that McIntosh is almost certain to compete in the 200m individual medley, 400m IM, 200m fly, and 400m free. The conflicts with the 800m freestyle and 200m backstroke events have made those options unfeasible for McIntosh, leading to the probable selection of the 200m freestyle as her fifth event.
The tentative projection for McIntosh’s event lineup at the 2028 Olympics includes the 400m freestyle final on the first day, followed by the 400m IM final, 200m freestyle semifinal and final, 200m IM semifinal and final, and 200m butterfly semifinal and final on subsequent days.
In another significant change, the 2028 Summer Games will see the women’s 100m sprinters kick off the competition, a departure from the tradition of swimming opening the Olympics. The women’s 100m will take place on the first day at the LA Coliseum, giving top sprinters like Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and Julien Alfred the opportunity to showcase their talent across all three rounds of the event.
This shift in the schedule was made due to the opening ceremony being held at SoFi Stadium, necessitating the rearrangement to have track and field lead off the Games instead of swimming. The change will provide the women’s sprinters with ample time to prepare for the demanding schedule of multiple races in a single day.
