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, Day 2
- Finals Recaps: Day 1, Day 2
With day two of the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in the books, competition is heating up with a number of close races and eye-catching performances.
Three more meet records fell during the second finals session, with the U.S. taking down two while Japan knocked down one.
Now halfway through the championship meet, we’ve pulled together a handful of notable quotes from some of the day’s medalists, broken down by event.
*All quotes are courtesy of USA Swimming’s official release on their website.*
Girls 100 Freestyle
15-year-old Rylee Erisman kicked off the session with a bang, as she enjoyed a massive performance in the 100 free that saw her post her first sub-54 swim and shatter the meet record with her time of 53.76.
“I think it went super well, I definitely tried to just hold on at the end and power through to get another medal for Team USA,” Erisman said. “I really enjoyed getting out there and racing all the girls… I’m super happy, it’s just amazing to be here and race everyone.”
Girls 100 Breaststroke
Elle Scott made an impact for the U.S. in her first and only individual race of the meet, winning bronze in the 100 breast with a personal best time of 1:08.59.
“I’m feeling great,” Scott said. “After this morning, all I was saying to myself was that I wanted to medal and that I was going to medal, and trying to use that manifestation. I was watching yesterday and everyone winning medals for Team USA was the greatest feeling as a teammate, and I wanted to be a part of it. I’m glad that I could do that.”
Boys 100 Breaststroke
Bringing home another breaststroke medal for Team USA was Campbell McKean, who won silver in a time of 1:01.13. While not a best time, it was .81 faster than his prelims time which saw him finish third overall heading into the final.
“It felt pretty good,” McKean said. “It went better than this morning, which obviously was the goal. I’m just glad to be in the top three. It’s an honor to get another medal for the U.S. and keep us in the lead.”
Girls 400 Individual Medley
Lilla Bognar clinched Team USA’s second gold of the night with her performance in the 400 IM. The 18-year-old shaved nearly four full seconds off her prelims time, posting a 4:40.06 to claim victory by a second and a half.
“I’m feeling awesome. It was just really exciting to be able to step up and come back with the win for Team USA,” Bognar said. “It was really cool to see all my teammates cheering me on, that was the best feeling ever. I could see all of them on my last 50. It just really gave me the boost to go. I love the culture of Team USA because of that.”
Boys 400 Individual Medley
Following up Bognar’s gold in the IM were Luke Ellis and Gregg Enoch, who brought home silver and bronze, respectively. Ellis posted his second personal best time of the meet, seeing a huge three second drop as he threw down a time of 4:16.84.
“I feel good,” Ellis said. “The double [of the 400m IM and 4x200m freestyle relay] went a little better than I thought. I’m not going to lie, I’m really happy with my time because I dropped a lot so I can’t be mad.”
While faster than his prelims swim, Enoch’s time of 4:20.46 was a few seconds off of his personal best but managed to hold onto his third place position to bring home a medal for the U.S.
“It was good, it was fun,” Enoch said. “It wasn’t the swim I wanted but nothing is better than scoring a medal for my team. Especially doing it alongside Luke Ellis.”
Girls 4×200 Freestyle Relay
Team USA’s 4×200 free relay team of Kennedi Dobson, Erisman, Teagan O’Dell and Madi Mintenko handed the U.S. its second meet record of the night, knocking over a second off of the previous time of 7:54.70.
The four girls posted a time of 7:53.56, leading the pack from start to finish as Dobson got an early lead with her opening 200 split of 1:57.79.
All four members of the relay squad shared their thoughts on the race.
“I was really excited to represent [Team] USA, and I knew I had the three girls behind me,” Dobson said. “I was just trying to be a good leader and stay as close to everyone as best I could. It was really fun and I’m honored to be part of this team.”
“It is always such an honor to swim on a relay for Team USA,” Erisman said. “My teammates really got me excited and I can’t wait to continue building our friendships and push each other for the rest of the meet.”
“It was definitely an honor being able to be with those three girls,” O’Dell said. “Obviously, it wasn’t my best day yesterday, but I did some pace this morning just hoping to be on a relay tonight, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be selected. Going into it, I was just excited to be with my teammates, and especially Rylee [Erisman] because we have always talked about it. It was just a dream come true and [I’m] really looking forward to the rest of the meet. I think this relay is going to carry us well.”
“It’s always great, anchoring, for me, is the best position to be in,” Mintenko said. “You just have control and it’s always fun running someone down or making a larger gap. I always love doing it for [the] USA and it’s the best feeling ever. I’m so glad I got to do it with these girls, who just kicked butt that first 600 and just gave me the room to freely swim without having to worry.”
Boys 4×200 Freestyle Relay
Bringing home another gold for the U.S. and keeping Team USA undefeated in the relays was the team of Luka Mijatovic, Norvin Clontz, Enoch and Jason Zhao.
The squad was in a tight battle with Canada for much of the first half of the race before managing to pull ahead in the third leg thanks to Enoch; they secured the victory with a time of 7:15.82, just under two seconds ahead of Canada’s team.
Mijatovic, Clontz, Enoch and Zhao all shared their thoughts on the relay.
“I felt some pressure going into it because I just wanted to set the tone for the rest of the relay, but I’m just super happy to be able to get the job done,” Mijatovic said.
“It means everything to me,” Clontz said. “The 800 free relay is probably my favorite event in swimming. To be on it for an American team is a dream come true, especially for finals. I’m really happy we could pull out the win and I hope to continue this legacy of the Americans being dominant in this relay as we did tonight.”
“I was a little nervous since I was coming about 30 or 40 minutes off the 400 IM,” Enoch said. “I was glad I was able to do my part for Team USA and swim along some great guys for us to come out on top.”
“It’s amazing, just building off what the other guys did. Bringing it home for Team USA and always an amazing feeling touching the wall first,” Zhao said. “I don’t really think behind the blocks, it just comes naturally. I saw the guys cheering for us on the side [of the pool] and I just wanted to get hype and get going.”
I enjoyed all the interviews. The quotes conveyed how much fun the kids representing Team USA are having – racing hard and supporting each other, creating lasting friendships, etc. I love the way they rally around the relays. Hope they can keep it going!