Luke Ellis Takes Down 8-Year-Old Junior Pan Pacs Meet Record In 800 Free

2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

• August 21-24, 2024
• Canberra, Australia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• All Days Prelim Heat Sheet
• Prelims Recaps: Day 1
• Finals Recaps: Day 1

BOYS 800 FREESTYLE

• World Junior Record: 7:43.37 – Lorenzo Galossi, ITA (2022)
• Meet Record: 7:55.16 – Bobby Finke, USA (2016)
• All Comers Record: 7:40.39 – Sam Short, AUS (2023)

RESULTS:

1. Luke Ellis (USA) – 7:52.40 (Meet Record)
2. Kazushi Imafuku (Japan) – 7:53.99
3. Kaito Tsujimori (Japan) – 7:54.50
4. Luka Mijatovic (USA) – 7:56.91
5. William Mulgrew (USA) – 8:01.63
6. Ethan Ekk (Canada) – 8:01.75
7. Aiden Hammer (USA) – 8:05.22
8. Tex Cross (Australia) – 8:09.04

American Luke Ellis took down the Junior Pan Pacific Championship meet record in the 800 freestyle in spectacular fashion on day one of competition, shaving nearly three full seconds off the old standard with a new best time of 7:52.40.

The previous meet record was a 7:55.16, set back in 2016 by Olympic champion and world record holder Bobby Finke.

Ellis came into the competition as a strong favorite to win; as the top seed in the event, he was entered with a time of 7:54.26, which was already below Finke’s old meet record time.

Ellies held the lead for much of the race, splitting an almost perfectly even swim: his opening 400 was a 3:56.21, while his closing 400 was a 3:56.19.

While Ellis clinched the record and the title, all three medalists in the 800 were under the previous meet record time. Japan’s Kazushi Imafuku posted a time of 7:53.99, while teammate Kaito Tsujimori turned in a 7:54.50 to round out the podium.

Besides setting a new meet record, Ellis’s swim marks an almost two second drop for him in the event, moving him up the ranking of all-time top age group performers.

The 18-year-old previously stood at #11 on the ranking of top performers in the 17-18 age group; his record breaking performance bumps him up one spot to now be the 10th-fastest performer of all time in the age group for the 800 free.

Finke still sits at #7 on the all-time ranking with his time of 7:51.45 from the 2018 Summer Nationals.