{"id":324363,"date":"2018-08-08T11:40:33","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T18:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=324363"},"modified":"2018-08-08T11:40:33","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T18:40:33","slug":"how-many-world-records-could-fall-at-the-pan-pacs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/how-many-world-records-could-fall-at-the-pan-pacs\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many World Records Could Fall at the Pan Pacs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Andy Ross<\/em><\/p>\n

2018 has been a fast year in the sport of swimming. Six world records have already fallen in long course meters with\u00a0Katie Ledecky<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Andrii Govorov<\/strong><\/a>, Kathleen Baker<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Adam Peaty<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0 Kliment Kolesnikov<\/strong><\/a>, as well as Australia’s 4×100 free relay<\/a> all setting world records this year.<\/p>\n

It doesn’t feel like the world records will stop either. The European Championships have already seen two world records go down with Kolesnikov and Peaty putting up the world’s fastest times, and the meet isn’t over yet. The Pan Pacific Championships in Japan start Thursday morning local time (Wednesday night in the United States) and could be the fastest meet in the world for 2018.<\/p>\n

Katie Ledecky\u00a0<\/strong>broke two world records at the last Pan Pacs in Australia in the 400 and 1500 free events. Other than those swims, it was a relatively slow meet due to bad weather and uncontrollable factors, but this year’s meet should be much quicker. So how many world records could fall in Tokyo?<\/p>\n

PAN PACS PSYCH SHEET<\/a><\/p>\n

Potential World Records<\/h2>\n
Anything Katie Ledecky Swims<\/h3>\n
$\"katie-ledecky-\"$
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n
Katie Ledecky<\/strong>\u00a0has already broken one world record this year, why not two? Why not three? The sky is the limit for this 21-year-old and it’s almost more likely she is going to break a world record than her to not. As for which event is under threat, who really knows? She swam the\u00a0second fastest time ever<\/a>\u00a0in the 400 free earlier this year at the Indianapolis Pro Swim Series and she swam the third fastest<\/a> in the 800 at the same meet. It will be interesting what she can do on a full rest.<\/p>\n
Women’s 100 Free<\/h3>\n
$\"simone-manuel-\"$
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n
The reigning Olympic gold medalist and\u00a0Simone Manuel\u00a0<\/strong>and the former world record holder\u00a0Cate Campbell\u00a0<\/strong>will be facing each other for the first time since the Rio Olympics. Campbell and Manuel currently sit second and third in the world rankings for 2018 as the duo sit behind\u00a0Bronte Campbell\u00a0<\/strong>of Australia, who will not be swimming in the meet.<\/p>\n
The world record is a blistering 51.71 by Sweden’s\u00a0Sarah Sjostrom<\/strong> but Campbell split a 51.00 on the end of Australia’s world record relay at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year. Manuel has been a 52.54 this year while Campbell has been slightly faster with a 52.37. It could take under 52 seconds to win the gold medal in Tokyo and that means that Sjostrom’s world record is certainly under threat.<\/p>\n
Women’s 100 Back<\/h3>\n $\"kylie-masse-6\"$
Photo Courtesy: Ian MacNicol<\/p><\/div>\n
Kathleen Baker<\/strong>\u00a0already broke the world record this year with her 58.00 from US Nationals in Irvine. The record used to belong to Canada’s\u00a0Kylie Masse\u00a0<\/strong>at 58.10 from last year’s World Championships. Earlier in the year, Masse won the Commonwealth Games<\/a> title in a 58.63, ahead of Australia’s\u00a0Emily Seebohm\u00a0<\/strong>in 58.66.<\/p>\n
Throw in Americans\u00a0Olivia Smoliga\u00a0<\/strong>(58.75) and\u00a0Regan Smith\u00a0<\/strong>(58.83) as well as Canada’s\u00a0Taylor Ruck\u00a0<\/strong>(58.97), and the top six swimmers in the world are all competing at the Pan Pacs in Japan. It could take a 57 to win the gold medal and there may very well be two or even three swimmers under that 58.<\/p>\n
Women’s 4×200 Free Relay<\/h3>\n
$\"katie-ledecky-allison-schmitt-gabby-deloof-\"$
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n
The United States has been knocking on the door in this event for a long, long time. The record is a 7:42.08 by China from 2009, with the United States getting as close to it as a 7:42.92 at the 2012 Olympics. Surely this is the time? Any relay with\u00a0Katie Ledecky\u00a0<\/strong>on the end is bound to be stellar, it’s just a matter of who the United States puts in the other three spots.<\/p>\n
Based on the top four fastest swimmers this year, Ledecky (1:54.56),\u00a0Allison Schmitt\u00a0<\/strong>(1:55.82),\u00a0Gabby DeLoof\u00a0<\/strong>(1:56.55) and\u00a0Leah Smith\u00a0<\/strong>(1:56.78) aggregate up to a 7:43.71. There has to be room somewhere in there to improve because they are capable of going a 7:41.<\/p>\n
Men’s 200 Breast<\/h3>\n
$\"ippei-watanabe-yasuhiro-koseki-celebrate-olympics-rio\"$
Photo Courtesy: Jason Getz\/USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n
The men’s 200 breast world record seems to be always under threat at every major meet. The record is a 2:06.67 from January 2017 by Japan’s\u00a0Ippei Watanabe<\/strong> and he is currently third in the world rankings with a 2:07.56 from the Mare Nostrum. Watanabe sits behind American\u00a0Josh Prenot\u00a0<\/strong>(2:07.28) who seems to be back to his 2016 form after a rough 2017.<\/p>\n
Prenot is the Olympic silver medalist but will have his hands full with the Japanese duo of Watanabe and\u00a0Yasuhiro Koseki\u00a0<\/strong>in their home country. Koseki has only managed a 2:08.45 this year but will certainly be a threat as his 100 has gotten a lot better in 2018. Another potential medal winner is Australia’s\u00a0Matthew Wilson<\/strong> who has consistently improved and flown under the radar to sit fifth in the world rankings.<\/p>\n
Probably Not But Will Be World’s Fastest Time<\/h2>\n
Women’s 200 Free<\/h3>\n
$\"titmus-ruck-mckeon-200-free-podium\"$
Photo Courtesy: Ian MacNicol<\/p><\/div>\n
Katie Ledecky\u00a0<\/strong>will have her first chance to race head to head with Canadian teenage sensation\u00a0Taylor Ruck<\/strong>. Ruck will be joining Ledecky on campus in Palo Alto later this year but this week in Tokyo they will be fierce rivals in the pool. Ledecky currently has the world’s number one time from the Santa Clara Pro Swim Series with her 1:54.56. Ruck is currently second at 1:54.81 and Australia’s rising teen\u00a0Ariarne Titmus\u00a0<\/strong>is third at 1:54.85.<\/p>\n
All three will likely lock horns in the 200 free in Tokyo unless Ledecky or Titmus decides to scratch to focus on the 800 later in the session. Throw in Japan’s\u00a0Rikako Ikee<\/strong>\u00a0and you have one of the can’t miss races of the meet.<\/p>\n
Women’s 400 IM<\/h3>\n $\"sydney-pickrem-canadian-swimming-trials\"$
Photo Courtesy: Scott Grant<\/p><\/div>\n
No\u00a0Katinka Hosszu<\/strong>. No\u00a0Mireia Belmonte<\/strong><\/a>. That leaves the door wide open for someone like Canada’s\u00a0Sydney Pickrem\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Japan’s\u00a0Yui Ohashi\u00a0<\/strong>in the 400 IM to put up the world’s number one time. Pickrem was bronze medalist in Budapest last summer at the World Championships behind Hosszu and Belmonte.<\/p>\n
The number one time in 2018 has been a 4:34.65 by Italy’s\u00a0Ilaria Cusinato<\/strong> from the Sette Colli, a time that would not have medaled last year at the World Championships.<\/p>\n
Pickrem will have her hands full with the home favorite Ohashi as well as whichever two Americans can make it through to the final.<\/p>\n
Men’s 400 IM<\/h3>\n
$\"kalisz-hagino-2016-rio-olympics-podium-400im\"$
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n
This has to be the most hyped race for the 2018 Pan Pacs. All three medalists from the 2016 Olympics are set to compete with\u00a0home favorites\u00a0Kosuke Hagino\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Daiya Seto\u00a0<\/strong>set to give the Tokyo crowd something to cheer about. But standing in their way is the heir to American IM domination in 24-year-old\u00a0Chase Kalisz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Kalisz (4:08.25) and Seto (4:08.98) are already first and second in the world rankings this year. Hagino has been a 4:10.69 already this year, sitting fourth behind American\u00a0Jay Litherland<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
All three guys will come to Tokyo on night one ready to play. Whoever comes out first will easily have the world’s number one time. But that 4:03.84 by\u00a0Michael Phelps\u00a0<\/strong>is out of reach for right now, but may be up for grabs by the time we hit the final in two years at the Olympics.<\/p>\n
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Via Chase Kalisz in Tokyo ahead of this week\u2019s Pan Pacific Championships, the second-biggest international meet before the 2020 Olympics. The 400m IM is traditionally the first Olympic swimming final, and it could be the most anticipated for the host nation. pic.twitter.com\/NpY0JgNju7<\/a><\/p>\n
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) August 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n