2025 World Champs Recap: McIntosh Magic, Marchand’s 1:52, USA WR & Relay Chaos Episode 255

The 2025 World Championships are in the books, and we've got takes. Who delivered, who flopped, and what the heck happened to all those prelims relay lineups?

John and Luke kick off the recap with taper talk and a few questionable Masters training choices before diving deep into the biggest storylines from Singapore: Summer McIntosh’s incredible meet and emotional rollercoaster, Léon Marchand’s stunning 1:52 200 IM, David Popovici’s last-50 death blows, and USA’s medley world record rebound.

We break down our picks for: * Individual swim of the meet (Yes, it’s who you think… but we explain why) * Race of the meet (Spoiler: That 800 free was as epic as advertised) * Swimmer of the meet (and what happens if we don’t split by gender?) * Biggest surprise (Some swims sucked… others, just stunning) * Relay of the meet (Hint: Uncensored relay takes inside) * Newcomer spotlight (12-year-old medalist? Say what?) Plus: we rant about USA Swimming’s late 50-stroke bandwagon, float ideas for an unattached all-star relay, and wonder whether World Aquatics' anthem actually slaps.

Let us know what we missed. What was your swim of the meet? Subscribe, comment, and follow us on Instagram @socialkickswim for more behind-the-scenes stuff we might not be brave enough to post publicly