Breakout in Budapest? Canadian teen swimmer Summer McIntosh ready to shine at world aquatics

Exactly one year ago, Canadian swimmers were preparing for the Olympic trials in Toronto, hoping to punch their ticket to Tokyo after a year delay. While many of the faces competing at those trials were familiar, the emergence of some up-and-coming swimmers started to take shape.

At the Games, Canadian women excelled, winning six medals inside the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, matching their performance in Rio. While Maggie Mac Neil, Penny Oleksiak, and Kylie Masse garnered much of the attention for the efforts, Summer McIntosh — who was only 14 years old at the time — made a splash. So, too, did 18-year-old Josh Liendo. 

Fast-forward to this month and there's a noticeable excitement around Swimming Canada as 32 athletes prepare for eight days of competition at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary, beginning Saturday (full coverage on CBC and CBC Sports.ca).

The Canadian team has 18 swimmers who have previous long-course world championships experience — Masse leads the way as Canada's most decorated FINA swimmer with 11 career medals so far, including at short course world championships. 

Javier Acevedo, Eric Hedlin, Yuri Kisil, Sydney Pickrem, Taylor Ruck, Kayla Sanchez, Rebecca Smith, Mac Neil, and Oleksiak have all won medals at world championships in the past. Over the years, Canada has won 59 world championship medals, 11th among nations.

WATCH | Maggie Mac Neil gears down after Tokyo:

But within the veteran squad is a mix of new talent, ready to make their debut on the world stage. Fourteen athletes will compete in their first world championships, including Olympians Katrina Bellio, Tessa Cieplucha, Ruslan Gaziev, Finlay Knox, and McIntosh.

This begins a very busy summer for the Canadian swimmers, 22 of whom will also compete in the Commonwealth Games July 28-Aug. 8 in Birmingham, England. 

Here are some of the key Canadian storylines to watch going into the world championships.

Budapest marks the first international event without longtime head coach Ben Titley, who was let go at the beginning of March. Titley had led Swimming Canada for the past decade, restoring the program into medal contenders.

Now it's up to interim head coach Ryan Mallette to keep the momentum going, a task he feels he can accomplish. 

"I feel like nothing is beyond my experience level. I've had athletes medal at world championships and the Olympics. There's nothing we're trying to do that we haven't done," Mallette told CBC Sports earlier this year. "I'm comfortable with what I need to do to get to the highest level again."

WATCH | What makes Oleksiak so fast:

Summer McIntosh has become a must-see every time she gets into the pool. During national trials two months ago in Victoria, the Toronto teenager turned heads by winning four events and swimming the 400m freestyle in the third-fastest time this year.