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“I mean, going in tonight, my goal was to get my hand on the wall first, so to get that done is good,� said Summer. “I’m not super happy with the time, but honestly, at a world championships, my goal is just to see how fast as I can go against my competitors, and not really focus too much on anything else. But I mean, still happy with the gold and just trying to continue my streak.�

But it really is harder. In Victoria, Summer set three world records and nearly broke two more, but the setup was ideal in every way. Here, she didn’t leave the arena until 10:30 Sunday night, didn’t get to dinner until 11, and woke up at six, according to her coach, Fred Vergnoux. The bus system has seen delays; the building can feel like a half-humid maze. And the program was a little delayed Monday night.

“She was a little bit annoyed that the timing wasn’t what it was supposed to be, so she started to lose her warm up,â€� said Vergnoux. “She said, I wasn’t warm enough because that duration was too long.

“Victoria was the perfect setup. This is bloody world championships, you know. So when there’s a little detail that changes, and you’re not in control of that, that’s where the difficulty comes, you know. And the capacity to say, ‘OK, there’s nothing that I can do about it, but I still need to win the race.’ And she wins the race.â€�

Indeed, and she called Canadian teammate Mary-Sophie Harvey up to the top step of the podium to listen to ‘O Canada,’ and that was just right. Harvey swam 2:09.15 for bronze, and it was Harvey’s first ever individual world championship medal in true best-on-best swimming at age 25. It was Summer’s favourite part of the evening.

But yes, little things matter, when you’re aiming to be the greatest. Summer has enough margin for error that she could still rush her breaststroke leg and lose form — and the lead — and could deliver slower-than-world-record backstroke and freestyle legs than Victoria after a blazing opening 50 in the butterfly, and still win. She also became the most decorated Canadian swimmer at the world championships, with her 10th career medal, though backstroke legend Kyle Masse can tie her Tuesday night.

Summer’s goals, though, are massive, and her expectations of herself are huge. As she said after completing the 400 free and 200 medley semifinal Sunday night, “I think I’m at my best. I’m in the best shape of my life.â€� Vergnoux says her freestyle form continues to improve, too: remember, Summer did not start out as a freestyler, and is still refining that stroke. It’s a little disorienting to contemplate.

So no, the time wasn’t what she wanted, but the goal remains intact. The 200 IM was the gold Summer had to fight hardest for in Paris: there, she was almost a full body length behind Walsh to start the final 50 freestyle, and after Walsh gained her lead with better turns and a strong breaststroke leg, Summer chased Walsh down to win. Walsh would be disqualified for an illegal turn, but she raced hard here. Still, this was Summer’s race to lose, and she wasn’t interested in losing.

“I knew she was going to go out fast, because that’s her trademark,â€� said a beaming Walsh. “Obviously, very talented, and I enjoy swimming against her because I think she makes me better. She just makes us all better on Team USA, and across the world. So it’s really awesome that I get to be someone to swim in the Summer era, and compete against her.”

The Summer era. That’s what this is, all right: she is about to define the sport with peerless performance, with unmatched versatility, and with a mentality that leaves her a little annoyed when she wins a gold medal with ease, slower than she’d like. The full Summer experience is coming into view.