Canadian swim star McIntosh deep into work with legendary coach, aimed toward 5 gold medals at L.A. Olympics

It’s been the better part of nine months since Canadian swimming star Summer McIntosh arrived at the University of Texas to join Bob Bowman’s pro training team. 

To say it’s an intimidating group of swimmers is an understatement. There’s an argument to be made that this group of athletes in Austin under the guise of Bowman is the best in the world.

McIntosh, Leon Marchard, Hubert Kos, Regan Smith, Simone Manuel are among the stars in the Texas capital of Austin — they are all Olympic champions. McIntosh wondered what it would be like to be the new kid on the blocks diving into this fiercely competitive atmosphere.

“I was terrified about going to Texas because I was just very intimidated and nervous, even though I was very excited at the same time,” she said recently in an interview with CBC Sports.

But in a short amount of time that trepidation has disappeared. 

“As soon as I stepped on deck for the first practice, I felt like I fit right in and all of the swimmers were so welcoming to me and that I was very grateful for,” she said. “And I've been able to make so many new friendships and meet so many new cool people. Everything's going well, so it's just crazy how much can change in a year.” 

'No days off': Summer McIntosh settles into new training environment with famed coach Bob Bowman

Head down and full steam ahead for McIntosh, now 19, as she continues her pursuit of five individual gold medals at the 2028 L.A. Olympics. The training blocks are intense, with eye-popping mileage in the pool being racked up. 

McIntosh is now onto a third coach in as many seasons, having gone from Sarasota with coach Brent Arckey, to France with coach Fred Vergnoux, to now finally being settled in Austin with the legendary Bowman. 

“I