Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh breaks Ariarne Titmus’ 400 metres freestyle world record

A 16-year-old teenager has rocked international swimming after breaking a world record held by Australia’s Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus. WATCH THE SWIM HERE.

SMETHWICK, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Summer McIntosh of Team Canada celebrates after winning gold in the Women's 200m Individual Medley Final on day four of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Sandwell Aquatics Centre on August 01, 2022 on the Smethwick, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Ariarne Titmus’ worst fears have already come home to roost.

The cherished 400 metres freestyle world record that she devoted her life to breaking has just been obliterated by the teenage star that she helped inspire by proving nothing was impossible.

In a stunning performance that will send shockwaves through the whole swimming world in the lead up to next year’s Paris Olympics, 16-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh has wiped almost a third of a second off the 400m freestyle world record set that Titmus set in May last year.

The Terminator achieved what everyone thought was a pipe dream in 2022 when she eclipsed the seemingly impenetrable world record held of 3 minutes 56.46 seconds by American legend Katie Ledecky.

Canada's Summer McIntosh (L) with her silver medal alongside gold medallist Ariarne Titmus (C) and bronze medallist Kiah Melverton at the medal presentation for the women's 400m freestyle swimming final on day six of the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Already the Olympic champion from Tokyo the year before, Titmus stopped the clock at 3:56.40 but just 10 months later, her own mark has been sunk after McIntosh posted a scarcely believable time of 3:56.08 at the Canadian world championship trials in Toronto.

“Honestly, I didn’t think the world record was a possibility but you never know,” McIntosh said.

“I’m so grateful for my coach and everyone that’s helped me along the way to get to where I am today. It means the world to me.

“Over the past few years I‘ve put my life into this. To be the best I can be. To achieve something like this, it was very unexpected. It was never in my dreams to do this tonight or even a few years ago. This just blows my mind.”

If Titmus ever thought there were calmer waters ahead after she busted her gut to beat Ledecky, this is the rude awakening that changes all that.

A victim of her own success, Titmus now has a giant target on her back from two fronts.

Determined to square the ledger with Titmus, Ledecky has moved to Florida to train with famed coach Anthony Nesty and regained her world titles last year when Titmus was absent.

And now she’s been joined in the American Sunshine State by McIntosh, who has already proven herself to be an even more dangerous predator lurking in the waters.

Summer McIntosh is a star on the rise. Picture: Getty Images

After years focussed on catching the one in front of her, it’s the one coming at her from behind that is the real worry for Titmus.

A star on the rise, McIntosh has been doing phenomenal things that have experts believing she might surpass them all as the GOAT.

She finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics when she was just 14 but is now a double world champion - in 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley - and now the early favourite for the 400m freestyle. She is also among the best in the world in 200m medley and 200m freestyle.

But it’s not just her times that should alarm Titmus, it’s the way she goes about her business.

A lot of young swimmers lose their nerve on the big stage, but not McIntosh.

She’s fearless and up for the fight. If that sounds familiar it’s because it’s the same approach that Titmus has.

And that’s no coincidence because McIntosh has been following Titmus and Ledecky closely - and not only in the pool.

Rather than fear them, she’s cloning herself off them and has laid down a marker that she‘s the one to catch.

Their three-way showdown in Paris next year promises to be one of the most watched races in swimming history but before that they will square off at the next world championships in Japan in July and the gloves are off.