Pan Pacific Championships, Night Three Finals: Sam Short Takes Down Ian Thorpe Championship Record in 400 Freestyle
The feeling of invincibility is a sense all athletes dream of experiencing at some point in their careers. In that moment, they exude unmatched confidence and enter competition with the belief that nothing can derail their momentum. For the last month, Australian Sam Short has ridden such a wave, excelling first at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and now at the Pan Pacific Championships in Southern California.
For the third consecutive day at the William Woollett Aquatics Center, Short made a podium appearance, a second individual gold medal earned on Friday night. Attacking the race from the start, the Aussie topped the field in the 400-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 3:40.52, the fastest of his career. The silver medal went to China’s Zhang Zhanshuo in 3:42.42, with American Aaron Shackell the bronze medalist in 3:43.44.
Short’s time bettered the championship record of the legendary Ian Thorpe, who went 3:41.83 at the 1999 edition of the meet in Sydney. It was a record Short was well aware of, and Thorpe was a talking point during Short’s deckside interview after the race.
“I thought I was going 3:39, but it was a personal record and to beat Thorpe’s (meet) record…it’s about time it went,” Short said. “He’s a hero of mine and I’ve watched all of his races. He’s an animal. There’s no telling what he could do if he was swimming today.”
Short’s gold medal in the 400 freestyle complemented his Night One triumph in the 800 freestyle, where he also pushed the early pace. This title backed up the victory Short secured last month at the Commonwealth Games, where he checked in with a time of 3:41.25. His visit to Scotland also included wins in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, and Short can match that triple at Pan Pacs if he closes out the meet on Saturday with a victory in the 1500.
Really, Short’s roll goes back to June, when he starred at the Australian Trials and became the fifth-fastest performer in history in the 400 freestyle, thanks to a mark of 3:40.67. Coached by Damien Jones with the Rackley Swim Team, Short might be in the middle of his biggest hot streak in the sport, quite the achievement given his triple-medal showing at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.
Able to defeat three-time Olympic champion Bobby Finke in the 800 freestyle on the opening night of the meet, Short faced another challenge at half the distance, due to the presence of Zhang. The Chinese 20-year-old is the world junior record holder in the 400 freestyle and posted the 11th-fastest time in history at March’s China Open, going 3:41.55. The youngster has ripped elite times from the 100 freestyle through the 1500-meter distance, with the 400 established as his sweet spot.
“I felt so good and was ready to go a PB,” said Short, who has been chasing Thorpe’s longstanding Aussie record of 3:40.08. “I had energy to burn at the end…I think it’s up there with one of my best swims.”
In grabbing the silver medal, Shackell continued his sterling meet, one that included a sub-1:45 split as part of the gold-medal 800 freestyle relay. His time in the 400 free makes him the No. 5 American in history. Pressing the early pace has been a key for the 2024 Olympian.
“I’ve always been someone who pushes the front end,” Shackell said. “I’ve been working hard in training and confident in what I’ve been doing.”
