Pan Pacific Championships: Day One Heat Sheets; Stacked Men’s 200 Freestyle
The first session of the Pan Pacific Championships is set for Wednesday morning, and many of the biggest names in the sport are ready to go to work at the William Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine, California. There will be action in 10 events, with the women’s and men’s 50-meter butterfly opening the meet. Swimmers will also step onto the blocks in the 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 butterfly, men’s 800 freestyle and women’s 1500 freestyle.
The United States’ Luke Hobson is the top seed in the men’s 200 freestyle, which features six sub-1:45 entries. Hobson leads the way at 1:43.73, a time that makes him the No. 5 performer in history. On the women’s side, Canadian Summer McIntosh has opted to bypass the 200 butterfly in order to chase the world record in the 200 freestyle. McIntosh revealed that decision during a media session on Monday and enters Pan Pacs with a best of 1:53.65, a time that was recorded back in 2023. The world record is owned by Australian Ariarne Titmus at 1:52.23.
Team USA’s Gretchen Walsh is the top seed in the first event of the competition, the 50 butterfly. Walsh is entered with a seed time of 24.51, which is .73 faster than Kate Douglass, the No. 2 seed.
One of the storylines of the meet will be the speed of prelims, thanks to the two-per-nation rule that limits each country to a pair of swimmers advancing to the championship final. Especially for the United States, swimmers will need to be near their best in some events to guarantee advancement to the final.
Here are the Day One Heat Sheets.
