Swimming Australia has named 30 athletes to compete at the 2014 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast in August 21-24, with the final team to be announced after the Commonwealth Games.
A total of 30 athletes swam A qualifying times during the Australian Swimming Championships at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre last week, gaining automatic selection for the event which will see Australia take on charter nations the USA, Canada and Japan at the new Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.
Swimming Australia CEO Mark Anderson said the Australian Swim Team will be looking forward to competing on Australian soil for the second time this year.
“It is a great opportunity for Australians to watch us take on the best in the world from the USA, Canada and Japan on the Gold Coast. Our swimmers are really looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd and producing some world class performances,” said Anderson.
“The Pan Pacs are less than four weeks after the Commonwealth Games and what better way to get behind our team after Glasgow, than to get behind them in home waters – swimming at a new state of the art facility on the Gold Coast.”
Led by some world class swims that are currently ranked number 1 in the world this year, including Cate Campbell in the 50 and 100m freestyle, Christian Sprenger in the 50 and 100m breaststroke, Emily Seebohm in the 100m backstroke and David McKeon in the men’s 400m freestyle, today’s announcement is the first stage of a two-step selection process.
Swimming Australia Performance Director Michael Scott said swimmers who swam a B qualifying time will now get the opportunity to join the Pan Pacs team if they are able to swim an A qualifying time at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
“Our selection standards and qualifying times have been well known for some time now, and the intention has always been to confirm the final team for the Pan Pacs after the Commonwealth Games,” said Scott.
“For those athletes that have swum the A qualifier, they have been selected onto the team and can plan to compete at both the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs, while for those who have a B qualifier, they will get the chance to swim that A time in Glasgow.”
“The two stage selection process is an important part of our development towards Rio and ultimately Tokyo in 2020, and will provide us with the two best teams to represent Australia in Scotland and then on the Gold Coast.”
The final Australian Swim Team for the 2014 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Championship will be announced following the Commonwealth Games.
Australian Swim Team – 2014 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Championships
Athletes: Jessica Ashwood, 20 (NSW), Bronte Barratt, 25 (QLD), Joshua Beaver, 21 (VIC), Bronte Campbell, 19 (QLD), Cate Campbell, 21 (QLD), Alicia Coutts, 26 (QLD), Tommaso D’Orsogna, 23 (QLD), Brittany Elmslie, 19 (QLD), Remy Fairweather, 17 (QLD), Thomas Fraser-Holmes, 22 (QLD), Ellen Gandy, 22 (VIC), Madeline Groves, 18 (QLD), Jordan Harrison, 18 (QLD), Belinda Hocking, 23 (VIC), Mack Horton, 17 (VIC), Mitch Larkin, 20 (QLD), Matson Lawson, 21 (VIC), James Magnussen, 22 (NSW), Cameron McEvoy, 19 (QLD), Ned McKendry, 21 (QLD), David McKeon, 21 (NSW), Emma McKeon, 19 (NSW), Taylor McKeown, 19 (QLD), Meagan Nay, 25 (QLD), Melanie Schlanger, 27 (QLD),
Emily Seebohm, 21 (QLD), Christian Sprenger, 28 (QLD), Kenneth To, 21 (NSW), Daniel Tranter, 22 (NSW), Ben Treffers, 22 (NSW)
Coaches: Jacco Verhaeren, National Head Coach, Brant Best, SOPAC (NSW), Matthew Brown, Nudgee Brothers (QLD), Simon Cusack, Commercial (QLD), John Fowlie, National Training Centre (ACT), Craig Jackson, Melbourne Vicentre (VIC), Chris Mooney, Indooroopilly (QLD), Vince Raleigh, Chandler (QLD), Richard Scarce, Palm Beach Currumbin (QLD), Rohan Taylor, Nunawading, (VIC)
Head of Delegation: Michael Scott, Performance Director
2014 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Championships
Dates – Thursday 21 August to Sunday 24 August
Venue – Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, Gold Coast – Queensland
The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is held under the oversight of the Pan Pacific Swimming Association. The Association was established in the mid-1980s and is made up of the four founding swimming federations – Swimming Australia, Swimming Canada, the Japan Amateur Swimming Federation and USA Swimming.
These charter nations developed the concept of a biennial swimming competition to provide their national teams with first class international competition between the two major international swimming competitions – the Olympic Games and the FINA World Championships.
As FINA modified its calendar in the 2001-2004 period to include two World Championships in the quadrennial (the odd years), the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships also adjusted and has been held since 2002 in the second year after the summer Olympic Games (2002, 2006, 2010, etc).
The first Pan Pacific Swimming Championships was hosted by Japan in Tokyo in 1985. Since then, the competition site rotated between Japan and the other charter nations. The host nation has taken responsibility for organizing all aspects of the Championships including issuing all invitations to other national swimming federations.
Host Cities:
1985 Tokyo, JAPAN
1987 Brisbane, AUSTRALIA
1989 Tokyo, JAPAN
1991 Edmonton, CANADA
1993 Kobe, JAPAN
1995 Atlanta, USA
1997 Fukuoka, JAPAN
1999 Sydney, AUSTRALIA
2002 Yokohama, JAPAN
2006 Victoria, CANADA
2010 California, USA
2014 Gold Coast, AUSTRALIA
The above is a press release submitted by Swimming Australia.
We will see if Mr J. Verhaeren has earned his monies or has to be deported to where he come from and money refunded .
I think that Australian should be coached by an Australian.
Solid looking team! heap of young talent in the pools that are sure to give everyone else a run for their money! Cant wait for the races to begin, so keen.
Why is Brazil not included in the 4 founding swimming federations ? They were present with Cielo in 2010 right ?
Because Brazil was not one of the founding federations.
Remember that Brazil is located on the Atlantic, and not on the Pacific.
I cannot remember when was the first time Brazil was invited to join Pan Pacs, but it was definitely not in the 80s or mid 90s. Even China which is a powerful swimming country AND located on the Pacific is not a founding federation.
They are for me “on paper ” the favorites for the Pan Pacs ; But Us trials haven’t come yet and i am very curious to see how the Americans will respond to that team . The young guns will surely shine and try to sneak in for a spot . May the month of june come quickly …..
Each year after the Australian trials everyone is enthusiast and is very impressed. And in the summer the US team crushes everyone.
The Australians are again very strong on sprint. The men improve on backstroke. But they still have a long way to go if they want to beat the Americans in the medal table.