SwimSwam Pulse: 59% Favor Euros As Most Impressive 2018 Meet

SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.

Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers

RESULTS

Question: Which meet did you feel had the most impressive performances?

  • European Championships – 59.7%
  • Junior Pan Pacific Championships – 19.2%
  • Pan Pacific Championships – 16.4%
  • Asian Games – 4.8%

A huge majority picked the European Championships as the most impressive of 2018’s major summer meets, while a surprising 19% picked Jr Pan Pacs higher than any other senior-level international meet.

Euros did have the distinction of having two world records set, compared to one at Asian Games and zero at the Pan Pacific meets. Both Kliment Kolesnikov (Russia) and Adam Peaty (Great Britain) set world records. Kolesnikov went 24.00 in the 50 back and Peaty 57.10 in the 100 breaststroke. Peaty’s record was the only one set in an Olympic event, as Asian Games’ world record came in the women’s 50 back (Liu Xiang26.98).

Pan Pacs featured several 2018 world record setters, but no one broke a record at the meet itself. Kathleen Baker had broken the 100 back world record a few weeks prior, but actually faded to bronze at Pan Pacs. Australia had set the 4×100 free relay record at Commonwealth Games in April, but without Bronte Campbell in the mix, didn’t reset the record at Pan Pacs. And Katie Ledecky set the 1500 free record in May, but didn’t break it or any other of her world records at Pan Pacs.

That Junior Pan Pacs performed so well in the poll was surprising. It gained 19.2% of votes, more than senior Pan Pacs and almost more than senior Pan Pacs and Asian Games combined. Swimming fandom is always enamored with young stars, though, which helps explain the poll results somewhat. Still, there were no World Junior records set at junior Pan Pacs, while several fell between Euros and Junior Pan Pacs.

Asian Games ranked suprisingly low in the poll despite one world record and a number of very notable performances.

 

Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Pollwhich asks voters where the Florida men will finish at next year’s NCAA Championships. Florida is an intriguing team because of how many major players they graduated (Dressel, Switkowski, Szaranek) combined with the retirement of coach Gregg Troy but the arrivals of a new coaching staff and one of the best freshman classes in the nation.

Where will the Florida men finish at 2019 NCAAs?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

legend-long-2

ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE

A3 Performance is an independently-owned, performance swimwear company built on a passion for swimming, athletes, and athletic performance. We encourage swimmers to swim better and faster at all ages and levels, from beginners to Olympians.  Driven by a genuine leader and devoted staff that are passionate about swimming and service, A3 Performance strives to inspire and enrich the sport of swimming with innovative and impactful products that motivate swimmers to be their very best – an A3 Performer.

The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner

In This Story

8
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

8 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Years of Plain Suck
5 years ago

Every right idea eventually becomes the wrong idea.

May the PanPacs go the way of the Goodwill Games and be replaced by something better.

Caeleb Dressel Will Get 9 Golds in Tokyo
Reply to  Years of Plain Suck
5 years ago

I say kill off Pan Pacs, Euros, and Asian Games. Worlds should be every year except for the Olympic year.

He said What?

If figure skating can have their world championships every year including the Olympic year, why not swimming? I am anxious to hear the arguments for and against. Please no down votes. This is a discussion forum and I would like to hear what both sides have to say about this. Thank you in advance.

Skoorbnagol

Makes it more meaningless, in 4 year cycles the current structure is good , just frustrating for fans

Caeleb Dressel Lost A Lot At Pan Pacs

There was nothing wrong about Pan Pacs other than the overhyped Dressel having a bad meet.

He said What?
Reply to  Years of Plain Suck
5 years ago

Agree. They were a great idea when it started in 1985, but the importance and lustre has diminished greatly.

fit2swim
Reply to  Years of Plain Suck
5 years ago

Maybe just keep it at nationals and that’s it for the mid year? Crazy idea that sounds dumb at first..but think about it- keep it as the selection for Worlds (just take the top two straight from Nats to worlds) and it would make Nationals soooo much more exciting, interesting, and important to the swimmers. We would therefore have a massively important meet on American soil. The intra competition here is enough, anyway

Boknows34
Reply to  fit2swim
5 years ago

Yep, scrap the Pan Pacs. I’m not sure if it could ever recover anyway from the commentary of John Burgess.

Australia and Canada can concentrate on the Commonwealths and Japan on the Asian Games. China have already ignored the PP.

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

Read More »