2022 Junior Pan Pacs – Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

• August 24-27, 2022
• Mark Takai Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center
• Honolulu, Hawaii (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time)
• Prelims 9:00 AM / Finals 5:00 PM (GMT-10)
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Streaming
• Five main story lines – boys
• Five main story lines – girls

The 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, which brings together swimmers from Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, and Singapore, is being hosted by the U.S. in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is open to athletes aged 13-18 as of December 31st of the competition year. Each nation is limited to two athletes in the scored A final and two in the B final.

Day 1 prelims already produced two meet records, with Erin Gemmell downing Dagny Knutson’s 2009 Junior Pan Pacs mark in the 200 free and Daniel Diehl taking a .63 bite out of Jack Conger’s 100 back record from 2012.

Gemmell will be challenged in the 200 free final by teammate Kayla Wilson and Australia’s Jamie Perkins; the trio were the only sub-2:00 swimmers this morning. In the boys’ race, Australia’s Flynn Southam will try to hold off USA’s Maximus Williamson and Rex Maurer, as all three posted 1:48s in prelims.

In the 100 back, USA’s Maggie Wanezek was the lone 1:00 swimmer in prelims, while Diehl’s 53.40 morning swim put him 1.3 seconds ahead of the second-fastest finals qualifier.

The girls’ 200 fly final will be an exciting matchup among Japan’s Airi Mutsui and USA’s Tess Howley and Alex Shackell, all of whom qualified with times ranging from 2:10.18 to 2:10.30. Shackell’s brother, Aaron Shackell, led the qualifier in the boys’ 200 fly by 1.4 seconds with his 1:56.15.

Girls 200 Meter Freestyle – Final

• Jr World: 1:54.79 – Summer McIntosh (2022)
• Jr Pan Pac: 1:56.66 – Erin Gemmell (2022)

Podium:

1. Erin Gemmell, USA – 1:56.15
2. Jamie Perkins, Australia – 1:57.34
3. Kayla Wilson, USA – 1:58.42

USA’s Erin Gemmell lowered her own meet record, established in prelims this morning, by another half-second to win the girls’ 200 free in 1:56.15. Gemmell went out in 27.39 and was up by almost half a body length at the first turn. She hit the halfway point in 57.05, a tad slower than she had been in the morning. She came home in 29.8/29.2, though, beating her prelims back half by .6.

Jamie Perkins of Australia and USA’s Kayla Wilson were battling furiously for second place behind Gemmell until the final 50 meters when Perkins pulled away with a 29.67 on the last 50 meters. She ended up with 1:57.34, beating Wilson by just over 1 second.

Boys 200 Meter Freestyle – Final

• Jr World: 1:42.97 – David Popovici (2022)
• Jr Pan Pac: 1:47.65 – Drew Kibler (2018)

Podium:

1. Flynn Southam, Australia – 1:47.11
2. Maximus Williamson, USA – 1:48.21
3. Adam Wu, Canada – 1:48.26

Australia’s Flynn Southam won the boys’ 200 free in with a new meet record of 1:47.11, only .4 off his seed time of 1:46.77. Southam was out in 25.29, flipping at the same time as USA’s Maximus Williamson. Williamson pulled ahead over the second 50 with a 27.6 to lead 52.98 to Southam’s 53.22. Southam crushed the second half of the race, though, coming home with 27.0/26.8 to leave Williamson in his wake.

Williamson, who is still 15 years old, stopped the clock at 1:48.21 to place second, just holding off Canada’s Adam Wu (1:48.26). Williamson now ranks #2 on the all-time list for 15-16 boys behind only Luca Urlando, who went 1:47.73 in 2019.

Girls 100 Meter Backstroke – Final

• Jr World: 57.57 – Regan Smith (2019)
• Jr Pan Pac: 59.59 – Katharine Berkoff (2018)

Podium:

1. Maggie Wanezek, USA – 59.96
2. Iona Anderson, Australia – 1:00.39
3. Kennedy Noble, USA – 1:01.03

USA’s Maggie Wanezek broke 1:00 for the first time to win the 100 back in 59.96. Out in 29.15 and home in 30.81, she was .17 faster than she’d been in morning heats. Australia’s Iona Anderson challenged Wanezek on the second 50, outsplitting her by .3 and coming with .4 of the American.

Kennedy Noble of USA kept Australia from sweeping the 2-3 spots on the podium, coming in third with 1:01.03. Jaclyn Barclay of Australia was just behind in 1:01.11.

Boys 100 Meter Backstroke – Final

• Jr World: 52.53 – Kliment Kolesnikov (2018)
• Jr Pan Pac: 53.40 – Daniel Diehl (2022)

Podium:

1. Daniel Diehl, USA – 53.27
2. Josh Zuchowski, USA – 54.51
3. Hidekazu Takehara, JPN – 55.51

Daniel Diehl of Team USA broke the meet record for a second time today, lowering his own 15-16 National Age Group record as well. After posting a personal-best time of 53.40 in prelims while zigzagging back and forth, Diehl improved his time by another .13 in the final to win the gold medal in 53.27. This time he swam a straighter race, albeit hugging one lane line on the first 50 and the other one on the back half. Diehl was well over a body length ahead of second-place Josh Zuchowski, also from USA. Zuchowski improved his time to 54.51, after coming in with a seed time of 55.18 and going 54.70 in prelims.

Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara came in third place, stopping the clock at 55.51.

Girls 200 Meter Butterfly – Final

• Jr World: 2:05.20 – Summer McIntosh (2022)
• Jr Pan Pac: 2:08.48 – Cassidy Bayer (2016)

Podium:

1. Airi Mitsui, Japan – 2:07.82
2. Yasuki Fujimoto, Japan – 2:09.63
3. Alex Shackell, USA – 2:09.71

It was Canada’s Ella Jansen who led the charge from the outset. She went 29.2/33.0 to lead with 1:02.23 at the 100. USA’s Tess Howley was a tenth behind and Japan’s Airi Mitsui was in third place with 1:02.48.

Mitsui took over the lead at the 150 wall after splitting a 32.9 on the third 50. She finished with a 32.4 on the last 50 to increase her lead over the field and come to the wall with a meet-record time of 2:07.82.

In addition to Mitsui, Yasuki Fujimoto (Japan) and Alex Shackell (USA) had blazing fourth 50s. They charged past Jansen and Howley to place second and third, respectively, with 2:09.63 and 2:09.71. Howley finished just off the podium with 2:09.86, while Jansen faded to sixth (2:11.10), getting out-touched by Australia’s Bella Grant (2:10.98).

Boys 200 Meter Butterfly – Final

• Jr World: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak (2017)
• Jr Pan Pac: 1:55.92 – Andrew Seliskar (2014)

Podium:

1. Aaron Shackell, USA – 1:55.81
2. Thomas Heilman, USA – 1:56.52
3. Ei Kamikawabata, JPN – 1:58.32

Aaron Shackell of USA took 11 hundredths of a second off the meet record that had belonged to Andrew Seliskar since 2014, when he clocked a 1:55.81 to win the boys’ 200 fly ahead of teammate Thomas Heilman (1:56.52). Both Americans posted lifetime bests and moved up in the all-time rankings of their respective age groups. Shackell is now the third-fastest 17-year-old and ranks #4 in the 17-18s, while Heilman is the second 15-year-old and #4 in the 15-16 age group.

Australia’s Jesse Coleman was first at the 50 wall, turning in 26.03 to lead the field by .05. Shackell was in second place, while Japan’s Seiya Shinkai was third with 26.42.

Over the next 50 meters, Shackell moved to the front of the pack and Heilman passed Coleman and Shinkai. Shackell and Heilman increased their lead at the 150 wall. Shinkai was still in third place, while Coleman was now in eighth. Shackell turned on the jets over the final 50 meters, coming home in 30.3. Heilman was even faster on the home stretch with 30.1. Ei Kamikawabata roared past his teammate Shinkai, going 29.5 on the last 50. He snatched the bronze medal with his 1:58.32, touching out Shinkai by .04.

Girls 800 Meter Freestyle – Fastest Heat

• Jr World: 8:11.00 – Katie Ledecky (2014)
• Jr Pan Pac: 8:28.01 – Leah Smith (2012)

Podium:

1. Jillian Cox, USA – 8:30.38
2. Jamie Perkins, Australia – 8:30.44
3. Michaela Mattes, USA – 8:35.78

Australia’s Jamie Perkins swam a strong and steady race, holding the lead from very early on through the 750 mark, but a stunning finish from USA’s Jillian Cox snatched victory away from Perkins on the last 5 meters. Cox went 8:30.38, taking 1.5 seconds off her seed time, to edge Perkins (8:30.44) by six-hundredths of a second.

USA’s Michaela Mattes earned the bronze with her morning performance of 8:35.78.

Boys 1500 Meter Freestyle – Fastest Heat

• Jr World: 14:46.09 – Franko Grgic (2019)
• Jr Pan Pac: 15:05.29 – Robert Finke (2016)

Podium:

1. Joshua Staples, Australia – 15:18.54
2. (tie) Josh Parent, USA / Alec Enyeart, USA – 15:27.36
3. –

In a finish oddly reminiscent of the previous race, Joshua Staples from Australia overtook USA’s Alec Enyeart at the end to take home the gold medal. Staples made his move much earlier than Cox did in the 800. After holding 31-mids on the middle 500, Staples began his descent at the 1000. He put up some 31-lows, then 30-highs, then 29-highs. He pulled into the lead at the 1400 and then really brought it home with a 29.3/29.4 on the final 100 meters.

Enyeart, meanwhile, closed with 32.4/31.2 to notch a final time of 15:27.36. His teammate Josh Parent, who had been nearly 3 seconds back in third place at the 1400, came home with 31.2/29.5 to stop the clock at the same time as Enyeart, tying for second place with 15:27.36.

Mixed 400 Meter Medley Relay

• Jr World: 3:44.84 – USA (Grant, Matheny, Huske, Walsh) (2019)
• Jr Pan Pac: 3:47.01 – USA (Bacon, Roy, Urlando, Walsh) (2018)

Podium:

1. USA (Diehl, Fan, Shackell, Moesch) – 3:46.83
2. Australia (Barclay, Buckingham, Coleman, Casey) – 3:50.51
3. Japan (Takehara, Okadome, Hasegawa, Ito) – 3:50.81

Team USA’s A relay held off Australia and Japan to break the meet record with a winning time of 3:46.83. Daniel Diehl led with 53.42, now his third-fastest 100 backstroke ever. Zhier Fan followed with a 1:00.76 breaststroke split. Alex Shackell kept USA in the lead with a 58.55 butterfly, while Anna Moesch brought them home in 54.10.

Medals Table through Day 1

Team Points through Day 1