Olympic champions Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand capped off a thrilling week at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships by winning gold in the women’s and men’s 400m individual medley events on Sunday.
Eighteen-year-old McIntosh stormed to her fourth gold medal of the competition with a championship record of 4:25.78 — finishing more than seven seconds ahead of Australia’s Jenna Forrester. The Canadian teen sensation had already claimed victories in the 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly, and 200m medley, along with a bronze in the 800m freestyle.
McIntosh, who holds world records in the 200m and 400m medley and 400m freestyle, continues to solidify her status as one of the most dominant swimmers of her generation, adding to the three golds and one silver she earned at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
On the men’s side, French star Leon Marchand overcame a shaky qualifying performance to take gold in 4:04.73, nearly four seconds clear of Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita. The 23-year-old, fresh off setting a world record in the 200m medley earlier in the week, narrowly missed breaking his own 400m medley world record from 2023.
The day also saw the USA women’s 4x100m medley relay team set a new world record with a blistering 3:49.34, while Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi doubled up on distance gold with victory in the 1500m freestyle. Other winners included Meg Harris (women’s 50m freestyle), Ruta Meilutyte (women’s 50m breaststroke), and Kliment Kolesnikov (men’s 50m backstroke).
In diving, Australia’s Cassiel Rousseau claimed gold in the men’s 10m platform, with Britain’s Robbie Lee finishing 12th.
The championships concluded with McIntosh and Marchand standing tall — two champions whose performances in Singapore have set the tone for another Olympic cycle.
