U.S. Slips to 1-For-5 in Relays at 2018 Pan Pac Championships (Medals)

2018 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, August 9 – Tuesday, August 14, 2018
• Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, Tokyo, Japan
• Meet site
• Psych Sheet
• Start Lists
• Meet Results

After 3 days of competition at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the United States still holds a margin in both gold medals (11) and total medals (28), but the mood among the fans of the American team is far from positive.

In 5 relays so far at the meet, the United States has won 1 gold, 2 silvers, and a bronze. With just the men’s and women’s medley relays left to swim, they would need gold medals in both to avoid becoming the first U.S. Pan Pacs team since 2002 to win less than 3 medals.

The American men’s DQ in the 400 free relay, after breaking a championship record no-less, was the icing on the cake for the team’s relay performance at this meet. The DQ itself overshadowed the fact that Caeleb Dressel split just 48.76 on the leadoff leg, which is exactly 1.50 seconds slower than he split on the leadoff of last year’s relay at the World Championships – which broke the American Record.

In the two remaining relevant races, the Americans have a double shot at gold (and avoiding a 1-relay-win meet). In the men’s medley, nobody at this meet has a breaststroker so far ahead as to expose the Americans’ weakness on that leg. Ryan Murphy has raced well this week, and of Dressel’s swims, his 100 fly was his best so far (though, the quality of his swims seems to be lagging as the meet goes on).

The American women have a shot too, with the best breaststroker (Lilly King) in the field. Japan probably doesn’t have enough to go around Rikako Ikee to catch the Americans, but the Australians have been swimming well, and have the better 100 backstroker and freestyler at the meet so far. The battle for gold will come down to whether Cate Campbell‘s anchor is closer to the all-time-best 50.93 she put down on the mixed medley anchor (the whole field was women, so no drafting influence), or the 52.0 that she swam in the individual race.

That relay misfortune for the Americans was to the positive for Brazil, as it bumped their men up to the top of the podium and gave them their first gold medal of the meet.

The U.S. has now won 44% of the gold medals, which is right on pace with where they were in 2014 (but historically low), but their total medal percentage has fallen to 37.3%, which is well 2014 (39.8% of the medals).

Pan Pacs Medals Table After Day 3 (Saturday)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	11	9	8	28
2	Australia	6	10	3	19
3	Japan	5	5	8	18
4	Canada	2	1	3	6
5	Brazil	1	1	2	4
Total		25	26	24	75

Day 3 Medalists

Women’s 400 free

1. Katie Ledecky, USA – 3:58.50
2. Ariarne Titmus, Australia – 3:59.66
3. Leah Smith, USA – 4:04.23

Men’s 400 free

1. Jack McLoughlin, Australia – 3:44.20
2. Mack Horton, Australia – 3:44.31
3. Zane Grothe, USA – 3:45.37

Women’s 100 fly

1. Rikako Ikee, Japan –  56.08  (Championship/Japanese Record)
2. Kelsi Worrell Dahlia, USA – 56.44
3. Emma McKeon, Australia – 56.54

Men’s 100 fly

1. Caeleb Dressel, USA – 50.75
2. Jack Conger, USA – 51.32
3. Vinny Lanza, Brazil – 51.44

Women’s 200 IM

1. Yui Ohashi, Japan – 2:08.16 (Championship Record)
2. Sydney  Pickrem, Canada – 2:09.07
3. Miho Teramura, Japan – 2:09..86

Men’s 200 IM

1. Chase Kalisz, USA – 1:55.40
2. Mitch Larkin, Australia – 1:56.21
3. Kosuke Hagino, Japan – 1:56.66

Women’s 400 free relay

1. Australia – 3:31.58 (Championship Record)
2. USA – 3:33.45
3. Canada – 3:34.07

Men’s 400 free relay

1. Brazil – 3:12.02
2. Australia – 3:12.53
3. Japan – 3:12.54 (Japanese Record)