2016 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
- Wednesday August 24th-Saturday August 27th
- Maui, Hawaii, United States of America
- Prelims – 9 am local (3pm EDT)
- Finals – 5 pm local (11 pm EDT)
- Psych Sheets and Live Results
The 2016 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships will run from August 24th to August 27th in Maui, Hawaii.
The event will include two junior world record holders. One of them will be Australian Minna Atherton holds the junior world records in both the 50 and 100 backstroke and just missed making the Olympic finishing third in the 100 backstroke and fourth in the 200 backstroke at the Australian Trials. Atherton, who won the 100 and 200 backstroke at the 2015 World Junior Championships, will be racing in her specialties of the 100 and 200 backstroke along with the 200 freestyle. She will be challenged in the backstroke events by American Lucy Nordmann who is going in ranked second in both the 100 and 200.
Gabrielle Fa ‘amausili of New Zealand, the former junior world record holder in the 50 backstroke and world junior champion in the same event, will also challenge for gold in the 100 meter distance.
American Sean Grieshop, who holds the junior world record in the 400 IM and won the same event at the 2015 World Junior Championships, goes into the competition as a favourite in both the 400 IM and 400 freestyle. Grieshop will be racing the 200 and 400 IM along with the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle. With the heavy event schedule the American will have extremely challenging lineup on both the first and last day of the competition. Grieshop will swim both the 200 and 1500 freestyle on Wednesday and the 200 IM and 800 freestyle on Saturday.
Michael Taylor of the United States, who finished second in both the 100 and 200 backstroke at the 2015 World Junior Championships, will go into the 100 backstroke as a heavy favourite, but will be challenged by fellow American Austin Katz in the 200 backstroke.
The men’s breaststroke events will feature 2015 World Junior Championship medalists American Reece Whitley, Australian Matthew Wilson and Ippei Miyamoto of Japan.
The women’s 100 butterfly is also a race to watch as 2015 World Junior Championship bronze medalist Gemma Cooney of Australia will have contend with a strong American contingent that includes Cassidy Bayer and Eva Merrell.
These junior pan pacs are a great meet to close the championship season in long course. We always see future stars in action.
I will especially watch among the US swimmers Zoe Bartel, Cassidy Bayer, Anya Goeders, Lucie Nordmann, Erica Sullivan, Eva Merrell, Alex Walsh, Robert Finke, Trey Freeman, Sean Grieshop, Austin Katz, Drew Kibler, Daniel Krueger, Michael Taylor and Reece Whitley.
Ryan Hoffer? No idea. He was very slow at olympic trials. Maybe he planned to peak in late August. Can he surprise us in long course and break 49 in the 100 free?
Why would Hoffer plan to peak in late August instead of olympics trials?
Makes zero sense to me.
Well firstly, we don’t know how Hoffer’s training has gone this year, it is possible that if he had an illness or injury, that he might not have been able to be ready in time for trials. If that was the case he might have trained through Omaha and will use the Jnr Pan Pacs as an opportunity to salvage his season.
Another possibility is that he made the decision that, being 17, he wasn’t ready to qualify. Why throw the kitchen sink at an event when the best he can hope for is to get beaten in the semis by people who are more physically ready than he is right now? When you can go up against good competition… Read more »
First off, Ryan Hoffer is almost exactly the same age as Kyle Chalmers.
Secondly, Hoffer also swam ridiculously fast 100 scy. He’s also physically quite developed. It would be incredibly disappointing if he didn’t have ambition to qualify for Rio Olympics.
He may still swim faster at the junior pan pacs though. He’s at that age.
Lets hope for his sake he swims better than at trials, 55.01 100 fly a year after 52.89 is not good…
starting a new olympic cycle with the junior ones….hope many of the participants will make the Tokyo olympic team….guess who?
My prediction (not limited to US participants):
girls:
Li Bingjie (CHN), MInna Atherton (AUS), Kaylee McKeown (AUS), Cassidy Bayer (USA), Gemma Cooney (AUS), Anna Sasaki (JPN), Eva Merrell (USA), Quah Jing Wen (SGP), Alex Walsh (USA), Rio Shirai (JPN), Tang Yuting (CH), Gabrielle Fa’amausili (NZL), Kelsey Wog (CAN),
boys:
Elijah Winnington (AUS), Nao Horomura (JPN), Jack Cartwright (AUS), Matthew Wilson (AUS), Reece Whitley (USA), Sean Grishop (USA),
It is harder for current American juniors to make it to Tokyo due to US domestic depth and also because many if not most of current US Olympics team members will still continue swimming until 2020.
You forgot Drew Kibler
Hello everyone. I’m back after that grueling and intense 2-week olympic break.
I’m too lazy right now to post a long comment about the swimming performances in Rio. I have around 3 days of sleep to catch up with swimming and track finals during the night.
Just a few quick comments:
– a bad meet for France but not very surprising. We had only 2 serious gold medal chances with the relay and Manaudou and it has transformed into 2 silvers. For the rest, apart from Balmy, Bonnet and Lacourt, it has been pathetic. And I don’t even talk about the bad atmosphere inside the team. A meet to forget quickly. Problem, with the retirements of Balmy, Lacourt, Gilot,… Read more »
2020 might just be the Oleksiak and Ruck Show
USA will dominate again in Tokyo….
I just love how you said that you weren’t going to post a long comment????
Haha, I was going to post the season comment but I do love reading Bobo’s thoughts as he is really well informed and makes great unbiased opinions! Thanks for sharing your thoughts Bobo!
Good to have you back on the comments Bobo! It was certainly an exciting week to be a swimming fan
These were Amazing Olympics , in actually many sports overall . I watched the full track & field as well , and Wow was that great !!!
We missed you Bobo!
Welcome back, BOBO. We miss your insightful comments.
Glad you’re back Bobo…
Bobo, you also picked Lacourt to win 100 back.
So 3 golds —> 2 silvers
And where’s your US female sprinters apocalypse now?
Do you also think that Australian and French coaches and the rest of the world should travel to USA to identify men’s backstroke talent who are tall, burly and shaped like linebackers?
Do you also think the rest of the world should have NCAA-like competition where swimmers train and compete in bath tub to have successful Olympics.
It is very interesting that your tones of statement reversed 180 degree before and after Olympics.
Please forgive Bobo.
He’s French. They can’t help it.
Freestyle was Phelps’ best stroke in Rio? Seriously?
And you got this just by looking at his 47.12 split?
As a Phelps fan I’m disappointed with you.
I hope you did watch the relay. Phelps’ 47.12 was helped by his fantastic RT (0.08) and his out of the world turn and underwater.
Bob Bowman stated that it was the best turn ever, not just for Phelps, but ever, like ever in the history of swimming.
“That’s why that year before doesn’t mean anything to draw conclusions for the US team expectations the year after at the olympic games.”
Interesting how your tone have changed now.
You predicted USA to win only 7 golds.
“Other remark, it’s time to not criticize anymore the period of the trials close to the olympic games. Maybe other big swimming nations will start to reconsider their schedule….”
But you were the only one in this site who has been loudly complaining for the past year that the trials schedule put US swimmers at disadvantaged. I wonder if you’d have different tone again if the results were not so great.
Now, how about NCAA?
Yay or Nay?
Yeah all usa gold medal because of ncaa..
Phelps, ledecky yeahh
Welcome back Bobo. The European timezone made it a very difficult Olympics to watch. If Paris wins 2024, can you please ask your government to stick to the local timezone 🙂
As usual, but not always, remarkably insightful and honest analysis. Absolutely fun to read. As many races and athletes as you commented on, it was somewhat remarkable that you failed to comment on the race between the leading French individual star and the oldest man in the meet — and the possibly most amazing statistic in the entire Games where a teenage gold medalist returns at age 35 to once again ascend to the top rung without any individual medals between. Ervin v Manadou, in adjoining lanes, might have been the most competitively satisfying race for any American in the Games.
No Michael Andrew at the meet?
Billy – no, which we’ve known for a few weeks since they announced the roster. He’s swimming the World Cups as well.
No mention of Alex Walsh. I hope she breaks the 1:00 barrier and 2:10 in the backstrokes!
Bummed to see Alex swim only four events. I assume she’s trying to be “rested” for these events but, after skipping us open and Jr’s, it’s a bummer to not see where she’s at with other events. She certainly could have added scoring power in other events. After the show Regan Smith put on in Minneapolis the first two weeks of August, it would have been an interesting comparison. Either way, good luck to the entire squad.
I have a good feeling about this US squad.
I don’t see them busting out a ton of golds but they will clean up the overall medal table. Lot of senior team level times by the chinese, japanese and aussies.
Where the canadians at????
Ruck and Oleksiak would look good on this team.
I don’t think they’d be good… They’d absolutely destroy everybody