After Eight-Year Hiatus, Pan Pacific Championships Making Return in 2026
The last time the Pan Pacific Championships were held, Tokyo served as the host. The year was 2018 and Australia’s Cate Campbell and the United States’ Katie Ledecky walked away with multiple individual titles in women’s action. On the men’s side, Americans Ryan Murphy and Chase Kalisz were gold medalists. Of that group, only Ledecky will compete when Pan Pacs make their return this summer in Southern California.
The 2022 edition of the meet, which was scheduled to take place in Canada, was canceled after the Covid-19 pandemic played havoc with the sport’s calendar. With the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo moved to 2021 and the 2021 World Championships pushed back a year, the charter countries of the Pan Pacific Championships – United States, Australia, Canada, Japan – deferred to the next installment of the competition to 2026.
After an eight-year hiatus, Pan Pacs are scheduled for the William Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine, California from August 12-15. The United States has already announced its squad for the meet, which will be held in a condensed, four-day format. Some athletes will likely have to make decisions on what events to contest during the competition, due to its tight nature. Additionally, some athletes from Canada and Australia will make a decision between racing at the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs, although several athletes will compete in both.
In addition to swimmers from the charter nations, Pan Pacs will present invitations to athletes to compete from non-European nations. In the past, there has been representation from South Africa, Brazil, China and South Korea. The last time the meet was held in the United States was 2010, when Irvine also acted as the host.
For the United States, Katie Ledecky and Michael Andrew are the only 2018 champions to qualify for the 2026 edition of the meet. Ledecky won the 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle in Tokyo while Andrew was the titlist in the 50 freestyle. Ledecky qualified for the 2026 Pan Pacs in the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free and 1500 free, with Andrew earning his qualification in the 50 fly. However, Andrew will have the chance to race other events since the meet offers qualified athletes the chance to expand their programs.