Canadian teen phenom Summer McIntosh has snagged a victory over US legend Katie Ledecky less than 12 months out from the Olympic Games, defeating her rival in the women's 400m freestyle at the US Open on Friday (AEDT).
The 17-year-old McIntosh stopped the clock at three minutes and 59.42 seconds (3:59.42), edging the second-placed Ledecky by 2.96 seconds in Greensboro, North Carolina.
McIntosh's win ended Ledecky's 11-year domestic reign in the 400m event. The seven-time Olympic Games gold medallist hadn't lost a 400m freestyle race in a US pool since the 2012 Olympic Games Trials, at the age of 15.
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McIntosh also broke Ledecky's meet record.
The Toronto-born young gun is the reigning women's world champion in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley.
She entered July's World Aquatics Championships as the women's world record holder in the 400m freestyle, but finished fourth as Australian Olympic Games champion Ariarne Titmus stole back the world record with a time of 3:55.38 in Fukuoka.
"After that race, I learned a lot about how to get back out after it," McIntosh said on Peacock after her US Open triumph.
"I had so many races after that that I was really happy with.
"No matter how bad one race is, you really get back up and get back into it."
McIntosh's 400m world record, registered at the Canadian Trials in March, stood at 3:56.08.
Ledecky's personal best is the 3:56.46 she posted at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, a world record at the time.
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