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Swim of the Week is brought to you by arena, a SwimSwam partner. Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets. Autumn McIntosh broke onto the scene earlier this year with an impressive showing at the Columbia Sectionals racing in short course yards, and the rising distance star has carried that momentum into the long course season. Competing at last week’s U.S. National Championships in Irvine just days after turning 14, McIntosh capped the meet off with a phenomenal swim in the women’s 1500 freestyle on the final day, clocking 16:32.04 to place 10th overall and knock five seconds of her previous best time of 16:37.02, set on July 18 while she was still 13. With the five-second time drop, the Berzerker Swimming product moves up from 25th into 10th all-time in the girls’ 13-14 age group, with nearly a full year to continue climbing the rankings before aging up to the 15-16 category. All-Time Rankings, U.S. Girls’ 13-14 1500 Freestyle (LCM) - Becca Mann, 16:11.98 – 2012 - Michele Richardson, 16:12.57 – 1984 - Katie Ledecky, 16:24.46 – 2011 - Jessica Foschi Gallo, 16:24.86 – 1995 - Diana Munz, 16:24.90 – 1997 - Janet Evans, 16:24.92 – 1986 - Kayla Han, 16:26.92 – 2023 - Bella Rongione, 16:27.23 – 2013 - Florence Barker, 16:27.37 – 1981 - Autumn McIntosh, 16:32.04 – 2026 McIntosh also set a new best time of 8:40.37 in the 800 free on the opening day of the meet, improving on her 10-day-old best time of 8:48.87 to place 13th overall and move into 24th all-time in the girls’ 13-14 age group. In the 400 free, she lowered her best time of 4:18.49 by over three seconds in the prelims, clocking 4:15.31, and then got down to 4:14.32 in the evening to place 4th in the junior final and move into 23rd all-time in the girls’ 13-14 age group. Follow arena USA on Instagram here. About arena arena has revolutionized the world of aquatic sport through insightful collaboration with world class athletes and the development of cutting edge competitive swimwear since 1973. Today, this spirit of collaboration and innovation lives on through a continuous evolution of advanced materials and Italian design that improves the performance, style and expression of all those who chose arena. From leading the lanes to living in style, arena is dedicated to providing all swimmers with the tools they need to express themselves, feel confident, win and achieve more. Because in arena, you can.