2018 Pan Pacific Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2018 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, August 9 – Tuesday, August 14, 2018
• Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, Tokyo, Japan
• Meet site
• Psych Sheet
• Start Lists
• Meet Results

Swimmers are gearing up for day 2 finals of the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Tonight brings the race for medals in the 100 free, 200 fly, 100 back, and 800 free relay. There are a few good races to look out for, but also keep in mind that the Americans are racing for Worlds spots tonight. The fastest 2 men and women from finals between this meet and U.S. Nationals will advance to Worlds in the individual races. In the 100 free, the 3rd and 4th fastest Americans between finals of Pan Pacs and Nationals will be guaranteed a Worlds spot for the relay, while the 5th and 6th fastest have a good shot of making the team as well.

After closing in on his World Record during prelims, Ryan Murphy will try to break the mark in the 100 back. World Record holder Kathleen Baker and former World Record holder Kylie Masse will go head-to-head in the women’s race. Simone Manuel and Cate Campbell will battle in the 100 free, while Caeleb Dressel races for the win and a Worlds spot in the men’s version of that event.

WOMEN’S 100 FREE

• Pan Pacs Record: 52.62, Cate Campbell (AUS), 2014

1. GOLD: Cate Campbell, AUS, 52.03
2. SILVER: Simone Manuel, USA, 52.66
3. BRONZE: Taylor Ruck, CAN, 52.72

Simone Manuel popped off the start, battling Cate Campbell, who formerly held the World Record in this event, in the middle of the pool. Campbell pulled away off the turn and won by over half a second as she crushed the Pan Pacs Record. Her 52.03 was a lifetime best and the 2nd fastest performance in history. Manuel held on for 2nd, holding off 200 free champ Taylor Ruck 52.66 to 52.72. Ruck is now just .02 away from the top 10 all-time performers list, with teammate and Olympic champ Penny Oleksiak currently occupying the 10th spot. Mallory Comerford, who held the American Record briefly last summer until Manuel took it back, was 4th tonight in 52.92, out-touching Japan’s Rikako Ikee (53.12).

Australia’s Emma McKeon ran away with the B final, winning by a second in 53.37. The USA’s Kelsi Dahlia was 2nd in 54.33, just hundredths shy of breaking into the top 6 for Worlds qualification. Margo Geer, the 3rd fastest American between the 2 meets, was 3rd in the B heat at 54.47.

MEN’S 100 FREE

• Pan Pacs Record: 47.82, Cameron McEvoy (AUS), 2014

1. GOLD: Kyle Chalmers, AUS, 48.00
2. TIE-SILVER: Jack Cartwright. AUS, 48.22
3. TIE-SILVER: Caeleb Dressel, USA, 48.22

Olympic Champion Kyle Chalmers came out on top, leading a 102 finish for the Aussies in 48.00. Teammate Jack Cartwright and World Champion Caeleb Dressel hit the wall simultaneously to share silver in 48.22.  That was good enough for Dressel to narrowly take the 2nd spot at Worlds for the U.S. in this race individually. Blake Pieroni is the American #1 with his finals time from nationals. Dressel clipped Olympic champ Nathan Adrian‘s finals time from Nationals by 3 hundredths to nab the spot. Notably, Zach Apple went 48.0 in prelims at both meets, but won’t qualify individually because he wasn’t quite as fast in finals. Apple was 5th tonight in 48.6. Tate Jackson went a 48.20 at Nationals but won’t qualify since he swam it from the B final there.

Adrian and Pieroni battled in the B heat. Adrian had the fast start and the early lead, but Pieroni closed on him to win the race 48.21 to 48.32. This will be the first time Adrian hasn’t represented the U.S. individually in the 100 free at Worlds since 2007.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY:

• Pan Pacs Record: 2:05.40, Jessicah Schipper (AUS), 2006

1. GOLD: Hali Flickinger, USA, 2:07.35
2. SILVER: Sachi Mochida, JPN, 2:07.66
3. BRONZE: Katie Drabot, USA, 2:08.40

Hali Flickinger led the way from start to finish, just a few tenths off her prelims time to win it in 2:07.35. Japan’s Sachi Mochida trailed Flickinger and Katie Drabot through the front half, but kicked it into gear on the back half to take silver in 2:07.66. Drabot held on for bronze in 2:08.40. Suzaka Hasegawa had the fastest last 50, but came up just short of the podium in 2:08.70. Flickinger and Drabot, who were both faster at Nationals, have secured their Worlds spots in this event.

MEN’S 200 FLY:

• Pan Pacs Record: 1:53.80, Michael Phelps (USA), 2006

1. GOLD: Daiya Seto, JPN, 1:54.34
2. SILVER: Leonardo De Deus, BRA, 1:54.89
3. BRONZE: Zach Harting, USA, 1:55.05

Brazil’s Leonardo De Deus took it out with the lead, but Japan’s Daiya Seto ran him down on the back half to win it 1:54.34 to 1:54.89. That moves Seto up to #5 in the world this year. Zach Harting and Jack Conger battled for Worlds spots in the middle of the pool. Conger was ahead through the 150, but Harting made a huge push on the final 50 to run him down and take bronze in a lifetime best 1:55.05. Conger fell to 7th in 1:56.83, nearly 2 seconds off his prelims time.

The U.S. swimmers for 2019 Worlds will be Justin Wright and Harting, as Wright is the fastest with his Nationals victory. Tonight, Wright finished 2nd in the B final in 1:57.27. Brazil’s Luiz Melo dominated that heat, taking a huge lead up front and holding steady in 1:56.23.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK:

• Pan Pacs Record: 58.29, Kylie Masse (CAN), 2018

1. GOLD: Kylie Masse, CAN, 58.61
2. SILVER: Emily Seebohm, AUS, 58.72
3. BRONZE: Kathleen Baker, USA, 58.83

Kathleen Baker flipped with the lead, under her World Record pace from Irvine, but she couldn’t hold off former World Record holder Kylie Masse of Canada and Olympic medalist Emily Seebohm of Australia. It was a tight finish, but Masse got the job done in 58.61 to clip Seebohm (58.72) for gold. Baker held on for bronze in 58.83 ahead of teammate Regan Smith (58.95).

Baker is safe for Worlds, but Smith narrowly missed it as Olivia Smoliga takes the 2nd spot. Smoliga was a 59.20 to win the B final tonight, but her time from the final at Nationals is slightly faster than Smith’s best, which is also from Nationals. Smith set the World Junior Record to take 3rd in Irvine, but was about a tenth shy of that time tonight to take 4th.

MEN’S 100 BACK:

• Pan Pacs Record: 52.19, Ryan Murphy (USA), 2018

1. GOLD: Ryan Murphy, USA, 51.94
2. SILVER: Ryosuke Irie, JPN, 52.78
3. BRONZE: Mitch Larkin, AUS, 52.88

Ryan Murphy is back. Murphy, who had a rocky summer in 2017, absolutely dominated this race. He flipped under World Record pace and blasted off the wall to take a huge lead. He fell just off the pace at the touch, missing his World Record by less than a tenth in 51.94. That broke the Pan Pacs Record and marks a tie for the 3rd fastest swim in history.

Japanese backstroke star Ryosuke Irie out-touched Australia’s Mitch Larkin for the silver, 52.78 to 52.88. That was Larkin’s first time under 53 since Rio. Matt Grevers, the 2012 Olympic champ, was just out of the medals in 52.99. He and Murphy will swim this race at Worlds again. In the B heat, Michael Andrew clipped his best again in 53.55 to clip Justin Ress (53.59).

WOMEN’S 800 FREE RELAY

• Pan Pacs Record: 7:46.40, USA, 2014

1. GOLD: AUS, 7:44.12
2. SILVER: USA, 7:44.37
3. BRONZE: CAN, 7:47.28

Ariarne Titmus led off in 1:55.24 to get the Aussies off to a great start. They held a huge lead through the 3rd leg with Emma McKeon (1:55.66) and Mikkayla Sheridan (1:56.72) taking over the middle portion of the race. The U.S. started to close the gap with Katie McLaughlin‘s 1:55.47 on the 3rd leg, but Katie Ledecky was still close to 3 seconds behind Madeline Groves (1:56.47) when she dove in. Ledecky almost ran the Aussies down, splitting 1:53.84, but came up just short as Australia won gold in a new Pan Pacs Record of 7:44.12.

Notably, Japan’s 7:48.96 for 4th was a new Japanese Record. Their fastest split came from Rikako Ikee with a 1:54.89 on the 2nd leg.

MEN’S 800 FREE RELAY

• Pan Pacs Record: 7:03.84, USA, 2010

1. GOLD: USA, 7:04.36
2. SILVER: AUS, 7:04.70
3. BRONZE: JPN, 7:08.07

Australia had a slight lead up front as Clyde Lewis led off in 1:46.54 to Andrew Seliskar‘s 1:46.75. They extended their lead through the middle portion of the relay with Kyle Chalmers (1:46.73) and Alexander Graham (1:45.91). They were a second and a half ahead as Jack Cartwright dove in for his 1:45.52, but Townley Haas reeled him in for the USA with a 1:43.78 split to secure the win for the USA in 7:04.36. Also on the winning relay were Blake Pieroni (1:47.63) and Zach Apple (1:46.20).