2026 Pan Pacific Championships: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap ...Middle East

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2026 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

DAY 1 PRELIMS HEAT SHEET

For the first time in eight years, the Pan Pacific Championships are here.

After the 2022 edition was canned due to make way for other major international meets that were posted from 2021 due to COVID, the Pan Pacs return for an intriguing four-day competition from the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine, kicking off on Wednesday and running through Saturday.

The opening day of competition features four events for each gender: 50 fly, 200 free, 100 back and 200 fly. We’ll also see timed finals of the men’s 800 free and women’s 1500 free, with the fastest seeded heats swimming with finals.

The headline of the day has to be Summer McIntosh opting to take on the women’s 200 free individually for the first time since the 2023 World Championships, dropping the 200 fly from her program after breaking the world record earlier in the summer.

Gretchen Walsh will also be on world record watch in the women’s 50 fly, and the Americans will have some intriguing to battles to keep an eye on in the 200 free and 100 back with only two lanes available per country in each ‘A’ final.

For a full preview of this morning’s session, along with a look at the scratches, click here.

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

Given the Pan Pacs haven’t been raced in eight years, it was no surprise to see the Championship Record fall in the first three heats of the meet as the women’s 50 fly got the action underway.

Ultimately, it was Gretchen Walsh walking away with the new CR heading into tonight’s final, having posted a time of 24.91 from the third and final heat. She set the American Record at the Sette Colli Trophy in June in a time of 24.51, the second-fastest performance in history.

In the heat prior, her American teammate Kate Douglass joined the exclusive sub-25 club with a blistering 24.99 swim, knocking a quarter of a second off her previous best of 25.24 to move up to #3 all-time behind Sarah Sjostrom (24.43) and Walsh.

In the opening heat, Taylor Ruck clocked 25.61 to be the first one to take down Rikako Ikee‘s meet record of 25.89 from 2018, and Ruck also lowered Penny Oleksiak‘s nine-year-old Canadian Record of 25.62 from 2017.

Torri Huske was 7th-fastest overall but as the third-best American, won’t make the ‘A’ final. New Zealand’s Zoe Pedersen was 10th in 26.62, but cracks the ‘A’ final due to four Americans being ahead of her.

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

The meet record fell in three straight heats again in the 50 fly, this time in the men’s race with Ben Armbruster, Gui Caribe and Van Mathias all breaking the 23-second barrier.

Mathias topped the opening heat in 22.99, breaking Cesar Cielo‘s 16-year-old Pan Pac record of 23.03 to narrowly miss his lifetime best of 22.87 set at the Indianapolis Pro Swim in June.

Caribe followed up with a 22.96 clocking in Heat 2, taking hold of the CR while coming just five one-hundredths shy of his personal best time of 22.91.

In the third and final heat, Australia’s Armbruster, who won Commonwealth gold last month in a Commonwealth Record time of 22.73, touched in 22.92 to claim the top seed for tonight and the Championship Record.

American Michael Andrew, the top seed coming in with his 22.79 personal best, put up a time of 23.01 to take a close 2nd to Armbruster in the final heat and overtake Santo Condorelli (23.18) as the second-fastest American and earn a spot in the ‘A’ final.

Isaac Cooper picked up the second Aussie spot in a time of 23.21, within a tenth of his PB (23.12), which knocked out Matthew Temple (23.45).

Shaine Casas ended up 12th-fastest overall and fifth-best among Americans in 23.62, meaning he won’t get a second swim tonight.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

‘A’ Final Qualifiers: 

MEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINAL

Early Heat Results: 

WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINAL

Early Heat Results: 

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