In the first of two anticipated showdowns at world championships, the Canadian phenom McIntosh was dominant against the American Ledecky.

McIntosh is aiming to win five gold medals in individual events at the worlds in Singapore, and the first one came Sunday in the 400-meter freestyle on the first of eight days in the pool. Only legendary American Michael Phelps has ever won five individual medals in the worlds. He also did it at the Olympics.

McIntosh absolutely dominated the field, swimming to a time of 2:01.99. Despite leaving her competitors behind, there was some slight disappointment by the 18-year-old phenom after she touched the wall and realized that she came within 18 hundredths of a second of erasing the oldest record in women's swimming.