By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
2026 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
August 12-15, 2026 Irvine, California William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center LCM (50 meters) Meet Central Live ResultsThe last time the Pan Pacific Championships were held, Summer McIntosh was just 11 years old.
Now, eight years later, she’s the best swimmer in the world and the one everyone’s looking to as the main storyline of the 2026 Pan Pacs in Irvine.
McIntosh will carry a heavy load on the Canadian roster, with some of the country’s other top names in recent years, such as Josh Liendo and Kylie Masse, opting not to compete in the event, and 2024 Olympic and 2025 World Championship medalist Ilya Kharun being in the process of changing his sporting citizenship to represent the United States.
TEAM CANADA’S 2018 PAN PAC SNAPSHOT
The Canadian team largely struggled at the 2018 Pan Pacs, winning just two gold and nine total medals—one of which came from open water.
Taylor Ruck, who was coming off a record-tying eight medal haul at the Commonwealth Games a few months earlier, led the way for the team in Tokyo, winning gold in the women’s 200 free, silver in the 200 back and bronze in the 100 free to go along with helping the Canadian women win a pair of relay bronzes.
Kylie Masse won gold in the women’s 100 back, Sydney Pickrem was the silver medalist in the women’s 200 IM, and Yuri Kisil claimed bronze in the men’s 50 free. In the men’s open water event, Eric Hedlin landed on the podium in third.
Canada finished a distant fourth on the medal table, with the United States dominating (20 gold, 45 total medals) and Australia edging out Japan for the #2 spot.
STORYLINES TO FOLLOW
Summer McIntosh: WR Watch, Schedule Options & Coming Off Illness
The last time we saw Summer McIntosh competing she left everyone’s jaw on the floor, breaking the super-suited world record in the women’s 200 fly, before withdrawing from the remainder of the Canadian Swimming Trials less than two days later due to illness.
That was over a month ago, and since McIntosh had no real incentive to continue competing through the rest of the Canadian Trials given the fact that once you qualify for Pan Pacs in one event, you can swim as many as you want at the meet, it’s more than likely her withdrawal was precautionary and she’ll be back at 100% in Irvine.
Looking towards the competition, it will be interesting to see what type of program McIntosh is willing to take on.
Will she expand her lineup out to include the 200 free, an event she’s been vocal about wanting to return to on the international stage in pursuit of breaking the 1:53 barrier, or will she dial things and focus on one individual event per day, with more of a focus on breaking world records?
Considering the way Bob Bowman typically approached the mid-quad “off” year between the Olympics and World Championships with Michael Phelps, using it as more experimental, there’s reason for optimism that she might be willing to take on a tough double without fear of it going sideways.
Now that the entry lists have been released, we have a better idea of what she’ll swim. Initially, the 800 free and 200 back might’ve been on the table, or at least a consideration, but she hasn’t entered either.
Potential McIntosh Schedule
Day 1 – 200 free, 200 fly, mixed 4×100 medley relay Day 2 – 400 IM, 4×200 free relay Day 3 – 400 free, 4×100 free relay Day 4 – 200 IM, 4x 100 medley relayMcIntosh’s schedule looks fairly straightforward outside of the opening day of competition.
She’ll swim the 400 IM on Day 2, the 400 free on Day 3 and the 200 IM on Day 4, and most likely, the women’s relays on all three days.
The big question comes on the opening day, where the 200 free and 200 fly coincide. Although there’s only one event, the 100 back, in between, there’s nearly an hour (7:29 pm – 8:22 pm) between the start of each race on the projected timeline, so there’s a definite possibility she swims both.
Especially since McIntosh has already broken the world record in the 200 fly this year, this looks like a great opportunity to take her best shot at a fast time in the 200 free, and then see if she can turnaround in just under an hour and win the 200 fly against a relatively weak field with no Regan Smith.
If McIntosh does pull off the double on Day 1, she’ll be well on her way to potentially five individual gold medals in Irvine, with the 400 free battle with Katie Ledecky and Lani Pallister, and a potential 200 IM clash with Kate Douglass, being her biggest hurdles.
However, McIntosh hasn’t lost to Ledecky in the 400 free at a major international meet since 2023, and she was over two seconds clear of Ledecky and Pallister at the 2025 Worlds, so she’s definitely a big favorite there.
In the 200 IM, McIntosh beat Douglass at the Olympics in Paris and then dominated at the 2025 World Championships with Douglass not in the field. We might not see Douglass in the event again at Pan Pacs, given that it comes directly before the 50 free, the event in which Douglass briefly held the world record in earlier this year.
Ryan Lochte owns the record of most gold medals won at a single Pan Pacs after claiming six events in 2010, though two of those came in relays. Even if McIntosh wins five individual events, it looks virtually impossible for her to add another given the relative weakness of the Canadian relays compared to the Americans and the Aussies.
Can Ruck Recreate 2018 Magic?
The last year the Pan Pacs were held, 2018, was the best of Taylor Ruck‘s career.
As we mentioned off the top, she piled up a record-tying eight-medal haul at the Commonwealth Games, and then followed up by winning five medals at Pan Pacs to become the most decorated Canadian ever at a single edition of the meet.
It’s been an up and down eight years since then, but Ruck has been on some of the best form we’ve seen from in the 2020s this year, setting a new best time in the 100 back (58.37) for the first time in seven years while swimming her fastest time in the 100 free (53.06) since 2018.
Looking towards this year’s Pan Pacs and what the medal opportunities might be for Ruck, she’s got a legitimate shot in the 100 free and 100 back.
Despite ranking 5th on the entry lists in the 100 back, given that only two Americans can make the ‘A’ final and Kaylee McKeown isn’t competing, Ruck moves into the bronze medal position, with Australian Iona Anderson and Canadian teammate Ingrid Wilm being her biggest challengers among those seeded behind her.
In the 100 free, Ruck is eighth-fastest on paper, but actually moves up to 4th given the two-per-country, only trailing whichever two Americans make the ‘A’ final and Meg Harris.
Ruck will also have a chance to medal in the 50 free, and has a decent chance to final in the 50 and 100 fly. She’ll also play a key role on the Canadian relays with the likes of Penny Oleksiak and Kylie Masse missing from the roster.
Tierney, Dawson Represent Best Medal Hopes For Men’s Team
Without Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun, the Canadian men are without a bonafide star who’s a lock to medal.
On paper, their best hope for a spot on the podium, at least in an individual event, comes in Blake Tierney, who broke out with a 4th-place finish at the 2025 World Championships in the 200 back (1:55.03 in semis) while also becoming the first Canadian sub-53 in the 100 back (52.95).
Tierney’s national record time ranks him 3rd on the psych sheets in the 200 back, only trailing Americans Jack Aikins and Keaton Jones. A medal is up for grabs in this event to be sure, with only Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara and Yumeki Kojima looking like they could upset Tierney for the podium.
In the 100 back, Tierney is basically in the same situation, seeded 5th behind four Americans, though only two of them can advance to the ‘A’ final.
However, he wasn’t on top form at the Canadian Trials last month, clocking 53.63 in the 100 back and 1:58.76 in the 200 back, so he’ll need to be back closer to where he was last summer in order to fight for a podium spot.
Raben Dommann was close behind Tierney in the 100 back at Trials, setting a new PB of 53.79, and given the uncertainty of the Americans in the event, there’s a chance that something in the 53.2-5 range reaches the podium.
They’ve also got an outside medal chance in rising breaststroke star Oliver Dawson, who nows owns all three national records in the 50 breast (27.29), 100 breast (59.33) and 200 breast (2:08.39), setting the latter mark en route to winning silver at the Commonwealth Games.
The Japanese men are stacked in breaststroke, and the Americans have stud sprinter Van Mathias as a near lock to the podium in the 50 and 100, so Dawson’s only real chance at a medal looks to be in the 200. Assuming Japan goes 1-2, he’ll need to get by the Americans, which includes two of AJ Pouch, Josh Matheny and Campbell McKean, and Australian Zac Stubblety-Cook, who he beat head-to-head at the Commonwealth Games. So there’s a chance, especially since none of those three Americans has broken 2:10 so far in 2026.
There’s also Finlay Knox, who was the 2024 world champion in the 200 IM, but there’s a tough field in that event led by Americans Shaine Casas and Carson Foster, and Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita and Yumeki Kojima.
OTHER SWIMMERS TO WATCH
Mary-Sophie Harvey – Has narrowed her focus with only two entries in the women’s 200 and 400 IM. Taking into account that only two swimmers per country can make the ‘A’ final, she ranks 5th in the 200 IM and 6th in the 400 IM. A medal looks like a long shot, but even a modest drop in the 400 IM could sneak her onto the podium, and she should be in the mix in the 200 IM while also being a key cog on the Canadian relays. Alexanne Lepage – Rising star set new bests in the 100 breast (1:06.08) and 200 breast (2:23.03) en route to her Trials wins, and all of a sudden finds herself in the medal hunt after failing to earn a second swim last summer at Worlds. Lepage is seeded 4th in the 200 breast and 5th in the 100 breast this week, and is within striking distance of the longstanding super-suited national record in the 100 (1:05.74), so she’ll be one to watch. Sophie Angus – Similar to Lepage, put herself in the medal conversation after dropping a big best time of 30.28 in the 50 breast at Trials. The Canadian Record of 30.23 has been on the books for 17 years, set by Amanda Reason in 2009, which was a world record at the time. Also, can Angus translate that 50 speed to a new 100 PB, possibly sneaking under 1:06? Ingrid Wilm – With no Kaylee McKeown, the bronze medal is up for grabs in the women’s 50 and 100 back, and at her best, Wilm will be in contention. Also, without Kylie Masse, she could be the swimmer who takes over as the women’s medley relay lead-off, assuming Taylor Ruck swims free. Lorne Wigginton – Coming off breaking the 18-year-old Canadian Record in the men’s 400 IM at Trials and then winning bronze in the event at the Commonwealth Games, the 20-year-old Wigginton will gain more big-meet experience here at Pan Pacs. And even though there’s a daunting field in the 400 IM, the two-per-country rule means he should be able to make the final, and if he’s able to get under 4:11, he’ll be mixing it up in the top five. Raben Dommann – Dommann is an incredible story, coming back from a stroke in 2025 to reach career-best form and make the Pan Pac team in 2026. A medal will be a tall order, but he’s very capable of being a finalist in the 100 back after setting a PB of 53.79 in early July.FULL CANADIAN PAN PAC ROSTER
Women
Sienna Angove – 50/100/200/400 free Sophie Angus – 50/100/200 breast Julie Brousseau – 200/400/800 free, 200/400 IM Summer Cardwell – 100/200 free, 200 IM Ella Cosgrove – 200/400/800 free Brooklyn Douthwright – 100/200 free, 100 fly, 200 IM Leilani Fack – 50/100 free, 50/100 fly Emma Finlin – 800/1500 free, 400 IM Sarah Fournier – 50/100 free Matea Gigovic – 50/100 free, 50/100 fly Mary-Sophie Harvey – 200/400 IM Madison Kryger – 50/100/200 back Alexanne Lepage – 50/100/200 breast Reina Liu – 50/100 free, 50/100 back Summer McIntosh – 200/400 free, 200 fly, 200/400 IM Emma O’Croinin – 50/100/200 free, 200 back Taylor Ruck – 50/100 free, 100 back, 50/100 fly Leah Tigert – 50/100/200 free Katherine Warkentin – 400/800/1500 free Ingrid Wilm – 100 free, 50/100/200 backMen
Javier Acevedo – 50 free, 50 back, 50 breast, 50 fly Francis Brennan – 100/200 free, 200 back, 200 IM Loic Courville Fortin – 50/100/200 back Oliver Dawson – 50/100/200 breast Raben Dommann – 50/100/200 back, 100 fly Ethan Ekk – 100/200/400 free, 100/200 back, 200 IM Ruslan Gaziev – 50/100/200 free, 50 back Apollo Hess – 50/100/200 breast Tristan Jankovics – 200 free, 200/400 IM Laon Kim – 50/100/200 free, 100 fly, 200 IM Aiden Kirk – 400/800/1500 free, 200 fly, 400 IM Yuri Kisil – 50/100 free, 50 fly Finlay Knox – 100 free, 50/100 fly, 200 IM Benjamin Loewen – 200 back, 200 fly, 200 IM Sebastian Paulins – 800/1500 free Antoine Sauve – 50/100/200 free Anton Semenyuk – 100 free, 100/200 fly, 200 IM Filip Senc-Samardzic – 50/100/200 free, 50/100 fly Blake Tierney – 50 free, 50/100/200 back Jordi Vilchez – 200/400 free, 200 fly Chris Weeks – 50/100 free, 50/100 fly Lorne Wigginton – 200/400 free, 200/400 IMRead the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 Pan Pac Previews: McIntosh Pursues Big Medal Haul As Canadian Men Look For A Spark
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