Summer McIntosh of Canada makes it two gold medals in two days at the world swim championships

SINGAPORE (AP) — Two days. Two gold medals.

Summer McIntosh is off to a perfect start at the swimming world championships in her attempt to win five individual gold medals, a feat only achieved by American legend Michael Phelps.

The 18-year-old Canadian took the 200-meter individual medley on Monday, clocking 2:06.69. The victory matched the gold she won Sunday in the 400 freestyle. Alex Walsh of the United States claimed the silver in 2:08.58 with bronze going to Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada in 2:09.15.

The winning time trailed McIntosh’s world record of 2:05.70. And she was not content.

“Going in tonight, my goal was to get my hand on the wall first,” McIntosh said. “So to get that done is good. I'm not super happy with my time. But honestly, at a world championships, my goal is just to go as fast as I can against my competitors. Still happy with the gold and hoping to keep up my streak next time.”

Yu Zidi, a Chinese 12-year-old, finished fourth in 2:09.21, just missing a medal as she astounds the swim world with her times. She is also due to compete in the 400 IM and 200 butterfly, probably her strongest events.

McIntosh will chase three more golds in the 400 IM, 800 free and the 200 butterfly over the next six days in Singapore.

Gretchen Walsh broke through on Monday with the first gold in Singapore for the United States, taking the 100 butterfly in 54.73.

The silver medalist a year ago in Paris, Walsh was just off her world-record time of 54.60 set earlier this year. Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium took silver in 55.84 and Alexandria Perkins of Australia claimed bronze in 56.33.

Walsh acknowledged in a post-race interview at poolside that the American team had been hit with a bout of what team officials called “acute gastroenteritis.”

It was picked up at a training camp in Thailand prior to arrival in Singapore. U.S. officials have confirmed the outbreak but have given few details and did not name swimmer nor say how many were affected.

“With the illness that’s been going on — I faced it back the last couple days — my body has just been fragile, and I think that I’ve needed to give myself grace,” Walsh said. "Luckily, I had the morning to recover and rest, and I used that, and that helped me enormously going into tonight, so I tried to make the most of it.

“It was not easy, and I’m just really proud of myself,” Walsh added, thrilled to be under 55 seconds. “It took a lot of guts. I just wanted to go out there and do it for my team, just represent the flag well. It came out of somewhere, but I’m really, really happy.”

Walsh's older sister Alex was almost even with McIntosh after 150 meters, swimming a strong breaststroke leg to make it a race.

“I was really excited on the breaststroke leg,” she said. “I could see her and I knew I was kind of gaining on her because breaststroke is my best stroke. I was really excited and, obviously coming home on the freestyle, that’s definitely where my biggest weakness (is).”

Two other finals wrapped up Monday’s schedule.

Qin Haiyang, the world champion in 2023, defeated Paris Olympic winner Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy in the 100 breaststroke. Qin clocked 58.23 to give China its first gold in Singapore with the Italian swimmer finishing in 58.58. Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan took bronze in 58.88.

“I’ve been injured and it’s not been easy to get back to my best,” Haiyang said. “I’m at best at 70%. I’m probably lucky. This definitely helps with my confidence.”

In the men’s 50 butterfly, Maxime Grousset of France edged Noe Ponti of Switzerland. Grousset clocked 22.48 with Ponti finishing in 22.51. Thomas Ceccon of Italy took bronze in 22.67.

In the four semifinals, Paris Olympics bronze medalist Luke Hobson of the United States led 200 free qualifying (1:44.80), with Paris champion David Popovici of Romania in fourth (1:45.02).

Hubert Kós of Hungary headed a very fast men’s 100 backstroke in 52.21. American Regan Smith led the women’s 100 backstroke (58.21) ahead of two-time Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown (58.44).

Kate Douglass of the United States swam a personal best in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.49) and will be the top seed in Tuesday’s final.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Summer McIntosh of Canada competes in the women's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Summer McIntosh of Canada competes in the women's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Summer McIntosh of Canada competes in the women's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Summer McIntosh of Canada competes in the women's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Gold medalist Summer McIntosh of Canada, center, flanked by silver medalist Alex Walsh of the United States, left, and bronze medalist Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada pose on the podium after the women's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Gold medalist Summer McIntosh of Canada celebrates on the podium after the women's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Summer McIntosh of Canada competes in the women's 200m individual medley semifinal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)