Courtesy of Way Funky Company, a SwimSwam partner.
Australian swimwear brand, Funkita is proud to announce a major sponsorship deal with young Canadian swimming prodigy Summer McIntosh on her journey towards the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The 15-year-old Toronto swimmer, was the youngest Olympian for Team Canada in Tokyo, finishing fourth in the 400 metres freestyle in a new Canadian record time. Since then, she has continued her extraordinary trajectory up the world swimming ranks posting remarkable times to rival the likes of Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus.
Bright colors like these in Rainbow Web are what attracted Summer to Funkita.
Already this year, McIntosh has broken the long-standing 400 metres individual medley Commonwealth record held by Australian Olympic Champion Stephanie Rice, becoming the third-fastest woman of all-time and in the process, setting a new World Junior Record. She swam under the World Junior Record in the 200 metres butterfly and broke the Canadian record in the 400 metres freestyle, ranking her third in the world this year. Her times in the 200 metres butterfly and 400 metres individual medley rank her number one in the world leading into the FINA World Swimming Championships to be held next month in Budapest.
McIntosh’s mother, Jill (nee Horstead) competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and won a Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Games bronze medal during her career. McIntosh started competitive swimming at the age of 8 and dreamed of following in her mother’s footsteps to the Olympics after watching the 2016 Canadian Olympic Games Trials from pool deck. She has now accumulated over 50 Canadian age-group records and, with her selection on the Canadian Swimming Team for the FINA World Swimming Championships and Commonwealth Games, is set to showcase to the world what she can achieve.
Summer enjoyed a quick photo shoot at Hotel X Toronto before heading to Europe for a big few months of racing.
The relationship between Funkita and the McIntosh family has extended for half a decade, as Jill McIntosh points out, “Summer has loved Funkita since she was 10 years old!” From their office in Australia, Funkita staff, who are keen swimmers themselves, started to notice regular purchases from the McIntosh name and realised a former Canadian Olympian and young up-and-coming star were fans. An alert was set up on the company ordering system, to ensure extra goodies were included with the McIntosh orders and the relationship grew from there.
As Funkita Athlete Manager Erika Hellstrom recalls, “We realised Summer must have been fielding proposals from the major brands, so it was incredible when she decided to stick with us at Funkita. We have watched and cheered her on for years, so we are so thrilled to be with her through to the Paris Olympic Games.”
The Strapped In One Piece is one of Summer’s all-time favorite Funkita styles, shown here in Blade Stunner.
The iconic Australian swimwear brand is renowned for supporting emerging swimming talent and future champions. Its colourful swimwear is designed by swimmers for swimmers and has the superior quality essential for daily training. Funkita and Funky Trunks, are sold in 50 countries and increasing their global presence whilst still retaining the integrity and authenticity of a family-run business.
Summer was photographed by Nikki Ross in the latest Free2Fly collection by Funkita at the iconic rooftop pool of Hotel X Toronto, a luxury hotel on the waterfront of Lake Ontario.
Keep an eye on our socials for exclusive content and updates from Summer and our other sponsored athletes.
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www.funkita.com