The primary reason is that McIntosh is putting her focus on the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships (Pan Pacs), which start on August 12 in Irvine, California. The Pan Pacs, last held in 2018 in Tokyo, feature powerhouse nations such as Australia, Canada, the United States, Japan and Brazil. It is a major meet for non-European countries outside the world championships and Olympics. Canada is still expected to send a reasonably strong team to the Commonwealth Games, but McIntosh’s absence will make it harder for organisers to attract the casual sports fan hoping to catch a glimpse of a teenager who already has four Olympic medals to her name. McIntosh is aiming to emulate Michael Phelps as the only swimmer in more than half a century of world championship history to win five individual gold medals at a single meet.