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The 2010 Pan Pacific Championships
The Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships is the marquee swim meet of 2010. Swimmers from the United States, Australia, Japan, and Canada will face-off from August 18-22nd in Irvine, California at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center. The meet brings together swimmers from various countries that border the Pacific Ocean in a championship-format swim meet and will likely bring thousands of spectators to Southern California in expectation of the best swimming in the western hemisphere. It is the first time since 1995 that the championships have been held in the United States, when they were held in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally, conceived to counter the ultra-competitive European Championships and give non-European countries the chance to compete in a marquee event outside the World Championships and Olympics, the Pan Pacific Championships will be the “main event” for American swimmers this summer.
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Full USA Swimming Press Release
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Day 1 at the Pan Pacific Championships drew to a close on Wednesday night with Ryan Cochrane winning the 1500m freestyle. Americans swam well in Irvine, winning five of ten events. Highlights included Michael Phelps dominating the 200 fly, Allison Schmitt and Morgan Scroggy placing 1-2 in the 200 free and Aaron Peirsol taking advantage of a Ryan Lochte scratch to win the 100 back. Ryan Lochte won the 200 free and Kate Ziegler won the 800 free. Read more about the first night here.
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Ryan Lochte continued to dominate the Pan Pacific Championships winning his second and third gold medal on the second night of the competition. After winning the 200 free on night one, Lochte added 400 IM and 800 free relay golds on Thursday. Other American gold medalists were Elizabeth Beisel (400 IM), Nathan Adrian (100 free), Natalie Coughlin (100 free), Rebecca Soni (100 breast) and the women's 800 free relay team. The U.S. has now won 12 of 20 events at the meet. Mike Gustafson discusses the significance of Adrian's gold. Read the press release.
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Day 3 at the Pan Pacific Championships saw another 8 gold medals by the United States, giving the USA 20 of 30 golds overall. Ryan Lochte picked up two golds (200 back and 400 free relay), giving him five for the meet. Michael Phelps won 100 fly gold and set a 100 free championship record in the lead-off leg of the 400 free relay. Mike Gustafson discusses Elizabeth Beisel's 200 back win. Other American gold medalists included Chloe Sutton (400 free), Dana Vollmer (100 fly), Jessica Hardy (50 breast) and the women's 400 free relay team. Read the full press release.
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The final night of the Pan Pacific Championships concluded with six more U.S. golds, giving the host nation a total of 26 out of 40. Ryan Lochte brought his total to six for the meet, adding 200 IM gold. Mike Gustafson talks about Jessica Hardy's 50 free gold. Nathan Adrian had a great 50 free race to take the gold ahead of Cesar Cielo. Plus Rebecca Soni won 200 breast gold and both U.S. medley relays won. Read the press release.
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Irvine, California and USA Swimming will host the 11th Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships in 2010. The last time the meet was held in the United States was in 1995, when it was hosted in Atlanta. The most recent editon of the Pan Pacs was held in Victoria, Canada in 2006.
The event consists of four days of pool swimming and a day of open water competition. Nations may enter 30 men and 30 women. A maximum of two athletes per nation may compete in the finals.
Tickets may be purchased here .
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Day 1, Wednesday, August 18:
Men's and Women's 50m Butterfly
Men's and Women's 200m Freestyle
Men's and Women's 100m Backstroke
Men's and Women's 200m Butterfly
Women's 800m Freestyle
Men's 1500m Freestyle
Day 2, Thursday, August 19:
Men's and Women's 100m Freestyle
Men's and Women's 100m Breaststroke
Men's and Women's 400m IM
Men's and Women's 50m Backstroke
Men's and Women's 800m Freestyle Relay
Day 3, Friday, August 20:
Men's and Women's 400m Freestyle
Men's and Women's 100m Butterfly
Men's and Women's 200m Backstroke
Men's and Women's 50m Breaststroke
Men's and Women's 400m Freestyle Relay
Day 4, Saturday, August 21
Men's 800m Freestyle
Men's and Women's 200m IM
Men's and Women's 50m Freestyle
Men's and Women's 200m Breaststroke
Women's 1500m Freestyle
Men's and Women's 400m Medley Relay
Day 5, Sunday, August 22
Men's and Women's 10K Open Water
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Online:
All sessions of prelims and finals will be webcast live on Swimnetwork.com.
TV:
August 18, Universal Sports, 9:00pm - 11:30pm ET (live)
August 21, NBC, 2:00pm - 4:00pm ET (taped)
August 22, NBC, 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET (taped)
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Open Water Covered LIVE
Swimnetwork is pleased to announce that the women's 10K Open Water event will be covered live at 9am PT on Sunday, August 22. Please note that Swimnetwork's open water coverage is in beta testing right now and we may lose the race ocassionally during the broadcast. Swimnetwork continues to strive to better serve the swimming community and we hope that you enjoy this additional coverage.
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2010 Pan Pacific Championships Team Roster
Women
Allison Schmitt - 200m free, 400m free
Amanda Beard - 200m breast
Amanda Weir - 50m free
Annie Chandler - 100m breast
Ariana Kukors - 200m IM, 400m IM
Caitlin Leverenz - 200m IM, 400m IM
Chloe Sutton - 10K, 800m free
Christine Jennings - 10K
Christine Magnuson - 100m fly
Dana Vollmer - 100m free, 200m free, 100 fly
Elizabeth Beisel - 200m back
Elizabeth Pelton - 100m back
Emily Brunemann - 10K
Eva Fabian - 10K
Hayley Anderson - 800m free
Jessica Hardy - 100m free
Kara Lynn Joyce - 50m free
Kate Ziegler - 800m free
Kathleen Hersey - 200m fly
Katie Hoff - 400m free
Katy Freeman - 200m breast
Madison Kennedy - 50m free
Mary Mohler - 200m fly
Missy Franklin - 100m back, 200m back
Morgan Scroggy - 800m free relay
Natalie Coughlin - 100m back
Rachel Bootsma - 100m back
Rebecca Soni - 100m breast, 200m breast
Teresa Crippen - 200m fly
Men
Aaron Peirsol - 100m back, 200m back
Alex Meyer - 10K
Andrew Gemmell - 10K
Arthur Frayler - 1500m free
Chad La Tourette - 1500m free
Charlie Houchin - 400m free
Chip Peterson - 10K
Cullen Jones - 50m free
David Plummer - 100m back
Elliott Keefer - 200m breast
Eric Shanteau - 100m breast, 200m breast
Fran Crippen - 10K
Garrett Weber-Gale - 50m free, 400m free relay
Jason Lezak - 400m free relay
Mark Dylla - 200m fly
Mark Gangloff - 100m breast
Michael Klueh - 400m free
Michael Phelps - 200m free, 100m fly, 200m fly
Mike Alexandrov - 100m breast
Nathan Adrian - 50m free, 100m free
Nick Thoman - 100m back
Peter Vanderkaay - 400m free, 1500m free
Ricky Berens - 800m free relay
Robert Margalis - 400m IM
Ryan Lochte - 400m IM, 100m free, 200m free, 200m back
Scott Spann - 200m breast
Sean Ryan - 1500m free
Timothy Phillips - 100m fly
Tyler Clary - 400m IM, 200m back
Tyler McGill - 100m fly
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The Pan Pacific Championships will feature the best swimmers from the Pacific rim, as well as swimmers from various non-European countries such as South Africa. Expected to compete are the United States’ Michael Phelps & Natalie Coughlin, Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima, Australia’s Leisel Jones & Stephanie Rice, and Canada’s Ryan Cochrane. The 2010 National Championships will determine the U.S. squad, but expect the world’s best at this meet.
There will be old rivalries renewed, including the once-fearsome Australia-U.S. rivalry, which has more recently tilted in the Americans’ favor. The rivalry lead to the creation fo the Duel in the Pool – a dual meet between the two countries. This summer we should begin to see the faint outline of what could be the Olympic teams for each respective country. Will the rivalry be re-launched? Will the relays give us the magic and spark that we’ve seen in past big swim meets?
We will also see new rivalries emerge. Japan has a few faces looking to claim gold, including legendary breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima as well as backstroke phenom Ryosuke Irie. And we’ll see Team Canada take on their neighbors to the south. But the real story in this meet will be the United States, competing in their home country and in front of a home crowd, complete with coverage on NBC and Swimnetwork.com.
Because it’s been a while since this swim meet was held in the U.S. – nearly 15 years – this is one of those once-in-a-generation opportunities for age group swimmers across the country to see their favorite superstar swimmers and Olympians compete. Not only will the United States put its best team on the pool deck, but international superstars from across the world will also be present at the meet. Fans, age group swimmers, parents, and casual swim enthusiasts will be treated to a mega-event held in our backyard. And with the United States not winning an Olympic bid anytime soon, it could be a while before a major international swim meet is held on U.S. soil again.
The 2010 Pan Pacific Championships are a can’t-miss swimming event.
In addition to the fierce and fast competition in the pool, the Pan Pacific Open Water Championships will be held August 22nd at the Long Beach Marine Stadium, site of the 1932 Olympics’ rowing competition. Spectators will have a unique opportunity to catch this one-of-a-kind event, as well as a new addition to the swim program: open water pursuit races. In the pursuit races, co-ed teams of swimmers have staggered starts and compete in a relay-type format, with the slowest member of the team’s time counting. The event will be an exciting addition to the intriguing and up-and-coming sport of open water swimming.
And the biggest story that might result from this championship meet will be the difference that FINA’s recent ban on polyurethane suits will have on swimming times from a marquee championship meet. Last year at the World Championships, it was world record galore. This year, however, we could see the effect that the suit ban has on the sport with slower times. The Pan Pacific Championships could serve as a basis of comparison to pre-polyurethane championship meets.
If you’re looking to catch some of the world’s best athletes at the year’s biggest swimming event, book your tickets for the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California. As always, Swimnetwork.com will bring you behind-the-scenes blogs and articles, post-race athlete video interviews, live Tweets poolside, and the best coverage in the swimming media. As well as coverage on Swimnetwork.com, be sure to check out coverage on NBC, as the meet will be broadcast to a national audience. And don’t forge to follow Swimnetwork’s Facebook & Twitter pages as well!
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