By Madeline Folsom 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 ResultsWe are just one day away from the start of the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, and some of the Australian stars will be hoping to earn solid medal hauls while missing some of their top athletes.
What Happened Last Time?
The last Pan Pacific Championships were held in Tokyo back in 2018, and the Australian team looked very different than it does today.
The Aussies finished the meet in 2nd on the medal table with 29 total medals (8 gold, 13 silver, and 8 bronze). This 16 fewer total medals than the United States team, who won 45 total medals with 20 of them being gold. They finished six medals ahead of the Japanese team, who won 23 medals, of which six were gold.
While they did not finish the meet on top of the medal table, there were some major performances from the Australian athletes.
The women won all three relays in Championship record fashion, due in part to huge performances from Cate Campbell, who was in top form and won both the 50 and 100 freestyle events in her own Championship records.
The Aussie men won two gold medals with Jack McLoughlin taking the 400 freestyle by a tenth over Australian teammate Mack Horton. Kyle Chalmers won the 100 freestyle, stopping the clock in 48.00 to finish two tenths ahead of fellow Australian Jack Cartwright and American Caeleb Dressel, who tied in 48.22 for the silver.
There are only two athletes who are on both rosters and both are men. Breaststroker Zac Stubblety-Cook and mid-distance freestyler Elijah Winnington. In 2018, Stubblety-Cook won the silver medal in the 200 breaststroke and finished 9th in the 100 breaststroke. Winnington finished 23rd in the 50 free, 29th in the 100 free, 12th in the 200 free, and 6th in the 400 free.
Storylines to Follow
Commonwealth Blues and Roster Troubles?
A large portion of the Australian roster is coming off the Commonwealth Games at the end of July, which they dominated. They swept the relay events at the meet, setting Commonwealth Games records in six of the eight.
They racked up 37 gold medals, 31 more than the 2nd place team, South Africa, who won six golds.
A big question surrounding a lot of their roster will be how well the athletes can swim while fresh off their exceptional CGs performance.
There are also a number of their swimmers who chose to only race at the Commonwealth Games, including Cameron McEvoy and Kyle Chalmers. Mollie O’Callaghan was supposed to race at both meets, but she ended up withdrawing from Pan Pacs after she raced in Glasgow due to her ongoing injuries.
Also on the original roster for both meets was Kaylee McKeown, but she was diagnosed with glandular fever, also known as mononucleosis. She would have been the favorite to win all three backstroke events, but without her presence, other athletes, like Iona Anderson, will need to fill her position.
Teen backstroker Henry Allan is also not racing in Irvine, and without him the Australian roster is hurting for a men’s backstroker. Stuart Swinburn is the only Aussie entered in the 100 backstroke and he and Se-Bom Lee are the only swimmers in the 200. Isaac Cooper will be at the meet and racing the 50 backstroke and could be a potential backstroker on their medley relay.
Distance Aces
While there are some events that are missing the top Aussies, the distance freestyle events are not.
The women’s events will be highlighted by Lani Pallister, who is coming off the best season of her career in 2025, which saw her win the world silver medal in the 800 free and the bronze medal in the 1500 free.
At the Commonwealth Games a few weeks ago, she swept the distance events, winning the gold medal in the 400 free, 800 free, and 1500 free.
She will not have as easy of a path to the gold medals in Irvine this week, and it would actually be an upset if she wins any. She will have steep competition in the form of Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky in the 400 free and Ledecky’s ever present shadow in the 800 free and 1500 free.
She has only continued to improve this season, and she has added the 200 free to her repertoire. With the absence of O’Callaghan and Claire Weinstein, Pallister could pick up a medal in that event as well, though she has McIntosh to deal with.
On the men’s side, Sam Short has been having the season of his life, and he is finally healthy for a championship season.
He also swept the 400, 800, and 1500 freestyle events at the Commonwealth Games, and he will be hoping to accomplish the same in Irvine. He is the favorite in the 400 free with an entry time a full second ahead of China’s Zhang Zhanshuo.
In the 800 and 1500 free he will have competition with Bobby Finke, the 1500 freestyle world record holder. Finke has seemed a little off this season, though he is normally off his best before the big meet, so there could be some exciting races brewing.
Butterflyers
The Aussie men have a number of strong butterflyers at the meet, even with the absence of Chalmers. In the men’s 100 fly, Matthew Temple, Benjamin Armbruster, and Harrison Turner are all potential finalists.
Temple finished 2nd in the 100 fly at the Commonwealth Games, stopping the clock in 50.43, a new lifetime best time. He finished just one hundredth behind Josh Liendo, who stopped the clock in 50.42 for the gold.
Armbruster grabbed the bronze in 50.58 and Turner finished 4th in 51.17.
Liendo will not be at the Pan Pacific Championships, which opens the door for Australia to put two athletes on the top of the podium, though they will have some steep competition from Americans Shaine Casas and Dare Rose.
In the 200 fly, Turner won the silver in 1:55.38, a tenth ahead of Temple’s 1:55.45 in 2nd place. Temple is not racing the 200 fly at Pan Pacs with Se-Bom Lee entered as the 2nd Australian. They will both be hoping to earn a medal, but Americans Luca Urlando, Carson Foster, and Thomas Hileman and Japan’s Tomoru Honda will be very steep competition
The 50 fly will see Armbruster, Temple, and Isaac Cooper. Armbruster won the gold medal in the 50 fly at the Commonwealth Games, stopping the clock in 22.73 to tie Chalmers for the gold and Australian record, faster than anyone entered in the event at Pan Pacs.
Other Swimmers to Watch
Almost every swimmer on the Australian roster could earn a medal this week, but here are a few other swimmers to watch in Irvine.
Women
Iona Anderson – 50 back, 100 back, 200 back Elizabeth Dekkers – 50 fly, 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, 400 IM Meg Harris – 50 free, 100 free, Jenna Forrester – 200 free, 400 free, 200 back, 200 IM, 400 IM Alexandria Perkins – 50 free, 50 fly, 100 fly Sienna Toohey – 50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breastMen
Isaac Cooper – 50 free, 50 back, 50 fly, Edward Sommerville – 100 free, 200 free Zac Stubblety-Cook – 100 breast, 200 breast Kai Taylor – 50 free, 100 free, 200 free Harrison Turner – 100 fly, 200 fly Samuel Williamson – 50 breast, 100 breast, Elijah Winnington – 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 1500 freeRoster
Women
Iona Anderson – 50/100/200 back Hannah Casey – 50/100/200 free Brittany Castelluzzo – 50/100 free, 100/200 fly Jacqueline Davison-McGovern – 100/200/400/800/1500 free Elizabeth Dekkers – 50/100/200 fly, 200/400 IM Jenna Forrester – 200/400 free, 200 back, 200/400 IM Hannah Fredericks – 50 free, 50/100/200 back Meg Harris – 50/100 free Milla Jansen – 50/100/200 free Moesha Johnson – 400/800/1500 free Tara Kinder – 50/100/200 breast, 200/400 IM Tiana Kritzinger – 400/800/1500 free Inez Miller – 100/200 free Lani Pallister – 100/200/400/800/1500 free Alexandria Perkins – 50 free, 50/100 fly Ella Ramsay – 100/200 breast, 200/400 IM Sienna Toohey – 50/100/200 breast Molly Walker – 400/800/1500 free Amelia Weber – 100/200/400/800 free Olivia Wunsch – 50/100 freeMen
Benjamin Armbruster – 50/100 fly Isaac Cooper – 50 free/back/fly Matthew Galea – 400/800/1500 free Maximillian Giuliani – 100/200 free Benjamin Goedemans – 400/800/1500 free Charlie Hawke – 50/100/200/400 free Jamie Jack – 50/100 free Se-Bom Lee – 200 back/fly, 400 IM Bailey Lello – 50/100/200 breast William Petric – 200 free, 100 fly, 200/400 IM Sam Short – 400/800/1500 free Nicholas Sloman – 1500 free Brendon Smith – 200/400 free, 200/400 IM Edward Sommerville – 100/200 free Zac Stubblety-Cook – 100/200 breast Stuart Swinburn – 100/200 back Kai Taylor – 50/100/200 free Matthew Temple – 50/100 free, 50/100 fly Harrison Turner – 100/200 fly Samuel Williamson – 50/100 breast Elijah Winnington – 200/400/800/1500 freeRead the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 Pan Pac Previews: Australia Seeks Strong Medal Haul Despite Key Absences
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