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
The 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships are underway and already wrapped up the first day of racing. The competition has had no shortage of exciting moments and impressive swims thus far, as the U.S. jumped to an early lead in the medal table and broke two individual meet records.
With the first day of competition having concluded, we’ve put together a round-up 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 200 Freestyle
17-year-old Madi Mintenko opened the finals session with a strong performance in the girls 200 free, securing the silver medal in a time of 1:58.02, which was 0.79 faster than her prelims swim.
“I felt pretty good, better than I did this morning,” Mintenko said. “The result wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but I think it was a better race than this morning, so I’m happy with that.”
Boys 200 Freestyle
Luka Mijatovic brought home the U.S.’s first gold medal of the meet with his performance in the 200 free. The 15-year-old won the event in a time of 1:48.05, just narrowly off of his prelims time of 1:47.96 which had made him the 3rd-fastest performer of all time in the 15-16 age group.
“I’m feeling great. I’m super happy to be a part of this team and do my best to win a gold medal for us,” Mijatovic said. “I was just trying to get out from the beginning. I wanted them to chase me, not me chase them, so I’m just super happy to take the win for Team USA.”
Girls 100 Backstroke
Leah Shackley enjoyed a huge victory in the 100 back, not only securing a gold medal but also breaking the meet record in the event with her time of 59.46.
“I went out really fast and came back as best as I could,” Shackley said. “I died a little, but it was super fun having Charlotte (Crush) right there next to me. This is her first final, so I was really proud just to have her there. I gave it all I had – we both did, I know we did.”
Shackley’s teammate Charlotte Crush was the runner-up behind her in the race, bringing home another silver for the U.S. with a time of 1:00.19. Although not a best time (she threw down a 59.86 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June), it was still one of her top performances in the event.
“I’m so thankful to be a part of this team and to represent the United States,” Crush said. “I want to thank my coach, Mike [DeBoor], for helping me get here and coaching me along the way; my family, of course, has always been there for me and keeps me on my toes, especially with all three siblings. I can’t wait for the rest of the week.”
Boys 100 Backstroke
Also bringing home a silver in the 100 back was 18-year-old Blake Amlicke, who shaved a few tenths off of his prelims time to finish in a time of 55.16 and hold onto the runner-up position.
“[Medaling is] great,” Amlicke said. “I’m excited that I got my hand on the wall in second, and I can medal for Team USA and contribute towards our medal count.”
Girls 200 Butterfly
15-year-old Audrey Derivaux has made waves in the swimming world with her performances over the last few seasons, and she carried on the momentum with her gold medal performance in the 200 fly. She won her race in a time of 2:09.14, over a second and half faster than the runner-up swimmer behind her and the only time under 2:10.
“I am feeling so excited,” Derivaux said about her victory. “All the adrenaline is here. I didn’t really have any expectations for that, I just went into it thinking that I needed to do it for Team USA and for my country. I really didn’t have any personal expectations, but I really wanted to win gold.”
Boys 200 Butterfly
The U.S. secured gold in both the girls and boys 200 fly, thanks to Logan Robinson throwing down a personal best time of 1:57.27 to claim the victory. The 18-year-old dropped over two seconds from his prelims time and shaved 0.81 off of his previous best time to go under 1:58 for the first time.
“I was just thinking that I had to represent the USA well,” Robinson said. “I told all my teammates that I was going to get a gold, and I told all my family that I was going to get a gold, so I wanted to honor my word.”
Boys 800 Freestyle
18-year-old Luke Ellis was the U.S.’s other individual meet record breaker, taking down Bobby Finke’s old meet record from 2016. Ellis threw down a time of 7:52.40, dropping almost two seconds and shaving nearly three off of the previous record.
“I’m feeling great,” Ellis said. “That is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done, holding that flag up while the national anthem was going. I can’t wait for more to come.”
Aside from being a top performer at Junior Pan Pacs for the U.S., Ellis is also a team captain for the American squad throughout the competition.
“It means everything and is not something I took lightly. It’s definitely something I want to represent well, especially being the USA captain. I didn’t want to let anyone down; I wanted to show everyone that Team USA is the country. We are the people to beat.”
Girls 1500 Freestyle
15-year-old Paige Downey secured the final individual gold of the night, racing far ahead of the pack in the 1500 free to drop over seven seconds and win the event in a time of 16:24.58, over13 seconds ahead of the runner-up finisher.
“Definitely tired, but I’m super happy to win a gold medal for Team USA,” Downey said. “It’s been so much fun, and I can’t wait to win more.”
4×100 Mixed Medley Relay
The U.S. won the first relay of the meet, as the team of Shackley, Campbell McKean, Rowan Cox and Rylee Erisman took home the gold medal in the 4×100 mixed medley relay with a time of 3:45.21, which marked another Junior Pan Pacs meet record.
Cox, Shackley and Erisman all shared their thoughts on being a part of the relay team.
“Relays are the best,” Shackley said. “The energy is just amazing. It isn’t just you out there. You have three other people there supporting you, plus everyone on Team USA. Let’s be honest: Team USA, there is no better team to be a part of. We are the best. It was a great first night, and we’re not done yet.”
“When I got up on the blocks, that was the single most hype I’ve ever seen in an arena,” Cox said.
“It was amazing,” Erisman said, reflecting on closing out the relay. “It was my first ever Team USA relay, and I feel honored to anchor it and bring home gold for the team.”
