If it feels like déjà vu all over again, that’s because it is, as Leon Marchand of France and Summer McIntosh of Canada are ending 2025 the same way they came in – as the defending men’s and women’s World Aquatics Swimmers of the Year award winners.
McIntosh Named 2025 World Aquatics Female Swimmer of the Year After Record-Setting Season
Summer McIntosh’s remarkable rise in the sport continued in 2025, as the Canadian teenager earned her second consecutive World Aquatics Female Swimmer of the Year honour. Following a breakout Olympic campaign in 2024, she maintained top form throughout the new season, producing performances that reshaped the record books and reinforced her status as one of the world’s all-time most versatile swimmers.
The 2025 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria set the tone for her year. Competing at age 18 and preparing for a five-event programme at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, McIntosh delivered one of the most memorable domestic meets in recent history. Over five days, she set three individual World Records: reclaiming the Women’s 400m Freestyle record in 3:54.18, lowering her own 400m Individual Medley mark to 4:23.65, and surpassing Katinka Hosszú’s decade-old 200m IM record with a time of 2:05.70.
No swimmer had set three individual World Records in a single meet since Michael Phelps at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Among women, the feat had not been achieved since Inge de Bruijn at Sydney 2000—placing McIntosh’s performance in historically rare company.
In Singapore, McIntosh converted her momentum into world titles. She earned gold in the 400m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 200m butterfly, and 400m individual medley, setting two Championship Records in the process. Her final event, the 800m freestyle, became one of the standout races of the championships. In a compelling three-way battle, McIntosh challenged six-time champion Katie Ledecky of the United States and Australia’s Lani Pallister, ultimately taking bronze as Ledecky captured a seventh world title and a Championship Record at 8:05.62.
Reflecting on the race, McIntosh noted: “It’ll definitely take some time. This is a new event for me, and I have a lot to learn about it. We’ll see where it takes me in the next few years heading into LA.”
McIntosh concluded 2025 with four world titles, three World Records, and a podium finish against one of the most accomplished distance swimmers in history. Her career resume now includes three Olympic gold medals, eight long-course world titles, and four additional short-course world crowns.
In recognition of her achievements and continued impact on world swimming, Summer McIntosh is the 2025 World Aquatics Female Swimmer of the Year.
Marchand Crowned World Aquatics Male Swimmer of the Year
Following a landmark Olympic year on home soil at Paris 2024—where he captured four gold medals and emerged as a national sporting icon—Leon Marchand entered 2025 with a balance of ambition and patience. He spoke openly about targeting global records while acknowledging the post-Olympic adjustment ahead.
“I want to break all the records,” he said, while describing the World Aquatics Championships as a “challenge.”
“It's more like a transition year for me after the Olympics, which was a big goal for a lot of athletes and for me,” Marchand explained at the pre-event press conference in Singapore. “I would say it's more like getting back into the game. I had a pretty good year of relaxing, so now [the challenge is] getting back into it but really taking my time... I'm excited for the Worlds.”
That “transition year” began with one of the most impressive swims of his career. In the semifinals of the Men’s 200m Individual Medley, Marchand powered ahead of the previous World Record pace during the backstroke and widened the gap through the breaststroke leg. At the wall, the scoreboard confirmed history: he lowered Ryan Lochte’s 14-year-old World Record of 1:54.00 by 1.31 seconds.
“What’s crazy is that it’s a whole second… and it’s still hard to believe. A 1:52 on the 200m — that’s insane,” Marchand said immediately after the race. “I’m so happy. It’s just incredible.”
In the post-event press conference, Marchand credited the race to refined preparation and execution. “Today, I felt really good before the race. In the water, I felt light. Technically, everything felt clean. I had talked with Bob (Bowman) and Nico (Castel), and we agreed that tonight was the time to go for it.
“I went out hard from the start, but I stayed super relaxed. My underwaters were hitting 15 metres every time, and I didn’t make many mistakes. I didn’t realise I was going that fast, but I gave it absolutely everything — arms at full speed to the wall.”
A night later, he returned to win gold in the 200m Individual Medley, posting 1:53.68—the second-fastest performance in history to win his third world title in the event.
He closed his Singapore campaign with another gold medal in the 400m Individual Medley. After a conservative semifinal where he qualified seventh, Marchand surged to a 4:04.73 finish in the final, more than three-and-a-half seconds ahead of Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita. It marked his third world title in the 400m IM.
“Today was proof that I made the right choices and that I’m doing what I love,” Marchand reflected. “I didn’t necessarily need that confirmation—I already knew it—but it always feels good to be on the top step of the podium, to hear the national anthem, and to reflect on everything that’s happened this year.”
With a new World Record, two individual world titles, and a relay silver for France in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay, Leon Marchand is named the 2025 World Aquatics Male Swimmer of the Year—his second consecutive honour.