Pan Pacific Championships: Aaron Peirsol Threepeats 100 Back Title Thanks to Ryan Lochte Scratch – Coverage Sponsored by TYR

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IRVINE, California, August 18. IF not for Ryan Lochte's scratch of the men's 100 back finale, Aaron Peirsol would not have had a chance to defend his back-to-back Pan Pac titles in the event at the Pan Pacific Championships.

With Peirsol qualifying as the third-fastest American this morning, he would have been relegated to the B final due to the two-per-country rule if not for Lochte pulling out of the heat.

Peirsol, however, raced right through the door of opportunity with a 53.31 for the win. He moved to fourth in the world rankings this year, and backed up his wins in 2002 (54.22) and 2006 (53.32) in the event. The win gave the U.S. an impressive nine straight Pan Pac titles in the event with wins by Jeff Rouse (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995), Lenny Krayzelburg (1997 and 1999) and Peirsol (2002, 2006, 2010).

Japan's Junya Koga placed second in the A final with a time of 53.63, off his seventh-ranked season best of 53.49, while Australia's Ashley Delaney took third in 53.67 to move to 10th in the world.

Japan's Ryosuke Irie took fourth in 53.71, while USA's David Plummer faded to fifth in 53.80. Australia's Hayden Stoeckel (54.06), New Zealand's Gareth Tune (54.57) and Brazil's Guilherme Guido (55.05) snatched the rest of the top-eight finishes.

SwimMAC's Nick Thoman dominated the B final with a time of 53.66 to move into the top 10 in the world, and to think he would not have swum if not for Ryan Lochte scratching the finale.

Day One Finals Results

Coverage Sponsored by TYR

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