Jake Packard
Jake Packard is a breaststroke specialist from Australia who made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At 18, Packard thought about retiring from the sport, but instead moved to Brisbane to train under Chris Mooney. When Mooney took a coaching job at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Packard followed him and it is where he still trains.
Packard balances his time in the pool and training with his job working in a warehouse.
2015 Australian Nationals
At the 2015 Australian Nationals held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, Packard went head-to-heat with Christian Sprenger. Although Sprenger had a strong first half, it was Packard’s last 50 meters that stole the show and won the gold — he didn’t match his semi-finals time, which placed him 5th in the world.
2015 World Championships
Packard qualified for the 2015 FINA World Championships, which were held in Kazan. He advanced to the championship final of the 100-meter breaststroke after just sneaking under the 1:00 mark. Known for his strong back-half, Packard ended up finishing 5th, coming home in one of the fastest second 50 meter splits in the event. Packard also swam the breaststroke leg on the Australian 4×100-meter medley relay — splitting a 59.16, Packard helped his teammates come to a 2nd place finish less than two-tenth’s of a second behind the Americans.
2016 Rio Olympics
At his Olympic debut aged 22, Packard won a bronze medal as a member of the Australian 400 meter medley relay. He was joined by Mitch Larkin, David Morgan and Kyle Chalmers to take the bronze in 3:29.93 behind USA and Great Britain.
He also swam the 100 meter breaststroke where he finished 9th in the semi-final. He missed the final by just three hundredths.
2018 Pan Pacific Championships
Earning his first individual international medal, Packard swam his way to a silver on day 1 of pan pacs in the 100 breast, touching just behind Yasuhiro Koseki in 59.20 for a personal best. Packard was back in the 400 mixed medley relay, splitting 58.68 to help the Aussies capture relay gold. He finished off his pan pacs performance on day 4 with a bronze in the men’s 4×100 medley relay, splitting 59.03 on the breaststroke leg.
