SPORT Chasing More Than Gold: Summer McIntosh on What it Means to be Designed to Win

At 18 years old, Summer McIntosh continues to stun the swimming world. Just recently, at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials, she broke three world records — 400m freestyle, 200m IM, and 400m IM — and set Canadian records in the 800m freestyle and 200m butterfly.

The young Canadian prodigy and Olympic phenomenon embodies the Maison’s Designed to Win campaign not through talent alone, but mindset. She’s already rewritten swimming history — and she’s only getting started.

“Designed to win’ makes me think about touching the wall first at the Olympic Games,” Summer shares. A simple image, yet powerful. It’s not the trophy that defines her ambition, but the act of proving, in her words, “that all my hard work is paying off.” And that work is relentless.

Summer’s concept of sacrifice flips the narrative. “I do not feel that ‘missing’ out on anything is a sacrifice,” she says. “But instead, as an opportunity to improve and reach your full potential.” For her, victory is not just about gold—it’s about growth. Her success stems from consistency, from a mindset laser-focused on improvement, even outside the pool. “The discipline and work ethic I have in sports 100% translates into all areas of my life.”

And the numbers back her up. “A four-time medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Summer set Olympic records in the 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley. She left with three golds and one silver, tying the national record for most gold medals by a Canadian at a single Games. More impressive than the medals, though, is her mental fortitude.

“I am willing to do what others are not during the day-to-day process,” she explains. “And I absolutely hate losing.” That drive was never more evident than in the 200m individual medley in Paris. On the eighth day of competition, during her 14th race, she was trailing by more than a body length with one lap to go. But she surged ahead and touched the wall first. “I knew that I was designed to win and [had] absolutely no option but to get my hand on the wall first—and I did.”

This mindset doesn’t end in the pool. It lives in every detail of her routine and extends to her connection with time itself. “Time is a critical success factor in my sport,” she said. “Time measures my success.” It’s a statement that resonates deeply with TAG Heuer’s timekeeping legacy — and makes her the ideal face for the TAG Heuer Aquaracer collection.

As a swimmer who trains against the clock every day, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 collection mirrors Summer’s intensity and precision. Whether in the pastel green-lacquered dial version, the purple-lacquered dial model, or the gradient blue-dial edition equipped with the high-performance calibre TH31-00, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer is a tribute to endurance in motion. Built for resilience and designed to thrive under pressure, just like Summer.

What does winning mean to her beyond medals? “This mindset can apply to success in all areas of life, whether it be sport, business, relationships, or academics,” she explains. In a world often obsessed with outcomes, Summer McIntosh reminds us that being Designed to Win is about the process. The preparation. The progress no one sees.

And in that invisible realm — where effort meets vision, where seconds shape identity — champions are truly made.