By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
2026 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
August 12-15, 2026 Irvine, California William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center LCM (50 meters) Meet Central Psych Sheets Live ResultsWith so many big names absent (and more falling out by the day) at the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, there are precious-few major clashes left on the schedule this week in Irvine.
While most of the focus is on individual swimmers’ performances and how those results might set up for the run to LA28, there are still a few good battles on the docket.
With Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O’Callaghan now out of the meet for Australia, many of the best head-to-head matchups on the women’s side are no longer there. That leaves a bit of a men-heavy list below, with a lot more heavy favorites on the women’s side.
Best Races to Watch at the 2026 Pan Pac Championships
Bobby Finke vs. Sam Short in the Men’s 800 Free
Sam Short is finally healthy going into championship season, and he tore through the fields at the Commonwealth Games. There he won gold in the 400, 800, and 1500 freestyles individually, plus in the 800 free relay.
That comes off an Australian Trials meet where he set a new Australian Record in the 800 free – placing him as the third-fastest performer in history and the fastest without a polyurethane suit.
Finke, meanwhile, hasn’t really been close to his best in the 800 since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, though at 26 he wouldn’t seem to be past his prime.
Short is the favorite in the 400. Finke is the favorite in the 1500. And betwixt the two is the 800, which should be the best battle of the three, at least between these two swimmers.
Can Short hang on for his third major meet of the summer after going best times in mid-June? Did he cruise through the Commonwealth Games, where the fields were fairly soft, with a target on this meet? Or can Finke return to form? This race could easily be a blowout, or the kind of distance battle that dreams are made of.
Men’s 100 Breast Has a Field on a Collective Heater
For the American men entering Pan Pacs, the story is a sudden depth and class distance-wide in the men’s breaststrokes. An event that looked like a dark chasm not long ago now looks like a bright spot for the U.S. team.
Australian veteran Sam Williamson, meanwhile, had a great meet at the Commonwealth Games, winning both the 50 and 100 breaststrokes.
Throw in Japanese 17-year-old Shin Ohashi, who broke the World Junior Record in March, and the men’s breaststrokes are suddenly can’t-miss races at Pan Pacs. It’s been a while since this meet in particular has had fields that felt this good here, with running US and Australia deficits in the race.
McIntosh vs. Ledecky vs. Pallister in the 400 and Frees
While we’re waiting for the promised surprises from Summer McIntosh at this meet, any time we get to see Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh, who when they’re done will inevitably be in debate for the greatest performers of all time, is a highlight event.
McIntosh is just now reaching her “superpower era” according to her coach Bob Bowman, while Ledecky somehow seems ageless even at 29, including a best time in this 400 free last summer at the Pro Swim in Ft. Lauderdale.
The really fun race though might be Lani Pallister vs. Katie Ledecky in the 800 free. While Ledecky has been caught by the world in the 400 free, in the 800 and 1500 she has remained invincible. Pallister didn’t seem full-out at the Commonwealth Games, so she could find a historic upset at this meet if Ledecky isn’t at her best.
Men’s 400 IM Brings a Balanced Field
Leon Marchand‘s exploits in the 400 IM have rewritten what we consider to be “fast” in this event, but even without a likely 4:03 in the field, this should be a very deep field.
The race will include Americans Carson Foster and Bobby Finke, plus their rising teammate Rex Maurer. From the international side, Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita hitting a 4:06 for the first time in his career in March, and New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt looking really sharp in his new Australian training grounds.
While there’s no superstar among the field (and it’s hard to be one in this event in Leon Marchand‘s world), the event has at least five guys who could reasonably claim gold.
Women’s 50 Free, Gretchen vs. Kate and Meg Harris as the Spoiler
American teammates and University of Virginia training partners Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass traded the World Record in the 50 free in June, with Douglass swimming 23.59 on June 19 in Indianapolis and Walsh swimming 23.55 on June 28 in Rome at the Sette Colli.
And while Walsh enters the meet with the current record, here’s the stat that stands out: the pair have swum the race head-to-head in finals at three meets this year, and Douglass has come out ahead every single time: at the China Open in March (24.44 vs. 24.46), at the Ft. Lauderdale Open in April (24.21 vs. 24.40), and at the Pro Swim in Indianapolis in June (23.59 vs. 23.78).
That sets up a battle for the ages, and it’s kind of a shame that it won’t be on a bigger stage.
While the two have separated themselves from Harris on the scoreboard (Harris’ lifetime best is a 23.97 from the Paris Olympics), Harris is still the defending World Champion in the event and the Olympic silver medalist. It would remiss to exclude her from the conversation as a ‘big race swimmer’ who has a puncher’s chance coming off a 24.23 to win at the Commonwealth Games last week.
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