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Léon Marchand and Summer McIntosh crowned World Aquatics Athletes of the Year

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Léon Marchand and Summer McIntosh crowned World Aquatics Athletes of the Year

The year 2024 will forever be etched in swimming history, as two titans of swimming, Canada’s Summer McIntosh and France’s Léon Marchand, have claimed record after record and medal after medal on the world’s biggest sporting stages. The two stars have been crowned the World Aquatics Male and Female Athletes of the Year respectively.

The announcement followed the conclusion of the spectacular World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), where a remarkable thirty world records were set.

For Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old prodigy, it was a year of remarkable achievement. At the Olympic Games Paris 2024, she solidified her place in the history books, claiming three gold medals and one silver. After finishing second place in the 400m freestyle, where she finished behind Australian star Ariarne Titmus, McIntosh surged to her first Olympic gold in the 400m individual medley, winning by nearly six seconds—the largest margin in 40 years.

Two days later, she captured hearts and headlines with a stunning victory in her signature event, the 200m butterfly, where she shattered Olympic, world junior, and Canadian records, echoing her mother’s Olympic participation in the same event 40 years earlier. She closed her Games triumphantly, dominating the 200m individual medley with another Olympic and national record against a strong field.

The story didn’t end in Paris. At the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest, McIntosh unleashed a masterclass, obliterating three of her own world records in the 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, and the 400m freestyle. Her stunning 400m freestyle time of 3:50.25 smashed the previous mark by over a second and her in the 200m butterfly solidified her as the second woman in history to break the two-minute barrier in the event. McIntosh’s achievements have also earned her Canadian Athlete of the Year, Swimming Canada’s Swimmer of the Year, Female Swimmer of the Year, and Junior Female Swimmer of the Year.

“I don’t even know how to put it into words,” McIntosh said when asked to reflect on her 2024. “It’s been pretty crazy and all over the place with the Olympics and this. Lots of ups and downs, but overall amazing, and I couldn’t have done it without all my support. I’m so grateful for that. I had an amazing 2024 overall, in and out of the pool, so I couldn’t be more happy.”


Image Source: Istvan Derencsenyi/World Aquatics

Meanwhile, Léon Marchand set Paris alight as the hometown hero at the Summer Olympic Games, becoming the first swimmer since Michael Phelps to win four individual gold medals at a single Games. The 22-year-old phenom claimed five total medals, including an unforgettable double gold on the same night in the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke. His dominance extended to the 400m individual medley, where he shattered Michael Phelps’ 2008 Olympic record with a time of 4:02.95, winning by an astonishing margin of 5.67 seconds.

His success continued beyond Paris. At the World Cup Series, he swept the competition, winning nine consecutive events and taking home the Swimming World Cup Overall title, earning the rare “triple crown.” Marchand also rewrote the record books, achieving a new 200m individual medley world record (1:48.88) at the Singapore stop, breaking Ryan Lochte’s longstanding record of 1:49.63, which had stood since 2012.

Among the Athlete of the Year finalists were Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), Kaylee McKeown (AUS), Katie Ledecky (USA) and Regan Smith (USA) in the female category and Zhanle Pan (CHN), Bobby Finke (USA) and Daniel Wiffen (IRL) in the men’s category.

The rosters’ rivalries with the clock – and history – look set to continue in 2025. Stay tuned!

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