2024 Junior Pan Pacs: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2024 JUNIOR PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• August 21-24, 2024
• Canberra, Australia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• All Days Prelims Heat Sheet
• Prelims Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
• Finals Recaps: Day 1  | Day 2

Hello, friends. Welcome to the 3rd finals session of the 2024 Junior Pan Pacs. Given how the first two nights of the meet went, we should be in for another exciting session tonight. This is scheduled to be the shortest finals session yet, projected to run about 90 minutes.

DAY 3 FINALS SCHEDULE

• Girls 400 Freestyle – Finals
• Boys 400 Freestyle – Finals
• Girls 100 Butterfly– Finals
• Boys 100 Butterfly– Finals
• Girls 200 Backstroke – Finals
• Boys 200 Backstroke – Finals
• Girls 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Finals
• Boys 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Finals

After an electric 4×200 free relay lead-off on Thursday night, American 17-year-old Kennedi Dobson clocked a new personal best of 4:10.79 in the girls 400 free this morning. She led the field in prelims, with American teammate Madi Mintenko taking 2nd overall in 4:11.01. Mintenko is still the favorite in this race, as she holds a career best of 4:07.53, which is the fastest career best in this field by nearly 2 seconds.

The boys 400 free should be a great race as well. American 17-year-old Aiden Hammer made a statement in prelims this morning, ripping a huge new personal best of 3:51.65 to clock the top time. He’ll have his work cut out for him, however, as teammate Luka Mijatovic, 15, will be in the field tonight as well. Mijatovic holds a career best of 3:50.71, and he’s been on a tear this week. The Japanese duo of Kazushi Imafuku and Asaki Nishikawa were 3:52.18 and 3:52.36 respectively this morning and are very serious gold medal contenders both. Nishikawa has the fastest career best in the field, having been as fast as 3:50.41.

American 16-year-old Charlotte Crush led the field by a solid margin in the girls 100 fly this morning, clocking a 58.55. That performance was just off her personal best of 58.45. She’ll have to contend with teammate Leah Shackley, 18, who holds the fastest career best in the field with a 57.98.

Shackley is pulling double duty tonight, as she’s also the top seed in the girls 200 back, the next event after the 100 fly. Shackley, who earned gold in a meet record performance in the 100 back the other night, swam a 2:09.36 this morning to secure the top seed for finals. Teammate Teagan O’Dell popped a 2:09.89 for 2nd, and they were the only swimmers in the field to go under 2:12 this morning.

After winning the boys 100 back convincingly  a couple nights ago, Canadian Aiden Norman was dominant in prelims of the boys 200 back this morning. The 18-year-old swam a 1:58.11, touching just off his personal best of 1:57.75. Norman was the only swimmer in the field this morning to go under 2:00.

GIRLS 400 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 3:56.08– Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• Meet Record: 4:05.07 – Erin Gemmell, USA (2022)
• All Comers Record: 3:56.40 – Ariarne Titmus, AUS (2022)

RESULTS:

1. Kennedi Dobson (USA) – 4:09.46
2. Madi Mintenko (USA) – 4:10.98
3. Julia Strojnowska (Canada) – 4:11.52
4. Ella Cosgrove (Canada) – 4:12.97
5. Amelia Weber (Australia) – 4:16.61
6. Haruka Taka (Japan) – 4:18.10
7. Kim Bomin (South Korea) – 4:18.33
8. Misa Okuzono (Japan) – 4:18.81

After leading prelims with a career best in the girls 400 free, American 17-year-old Kennedi Dobson posted another PB en route to winning the race tonight. Dobson got out to the lead immediately, flipping at the 100m turn just ahead of teammate Madi Mintenko by 0.23 seconds. Over the course of the next 300 meters, Dobson’s lead grew to the point where she was well over a second ahead of Mintenko. She sped to the finish in 4:09.46, breaking 4:10 for the first time in her career.

Mintenko, who holds a career best of 4:07.53, came in 2nd tonight with a 4:10.98. She was a touch faster than her prelims performance of 4:11.01.

Canada went 3-4 in the race tonight, seeing Julia Strojnowska take 3rd in 4:11.52. Strojnowska was sitting right with Mintenko through the middle of the race, however, Minetnko remained roughly half a second ahead of her the whole way through. Ella Cosgrove, Canada’s other swimmer in the field, swam a 4:12.97 for 4th.

Australia’s Amelia Weber came in 5th with a 4:16.61. Of note, Weber holds a career best of 4:09.20.

BOYS 400 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 3:44.31– Petar Mitsin, BUL (2023)
• Meet Record: 3:48.36– Joshua Staples, AUS (2022)
• All Comers Record: 3:40.54– Ian Thorpe, AUS (2002)

RESULTS:

1. Luka Mijatovic (USA) – 3:49.24
2. Asaki Nishikawa (Japan) – 3:51.28
3. Aiden Hammer (USA) – 3:52.06
4. Kazushi Imafuku (Japan) – 3:52.71
5. Tex Cross (Australia) – 3:53.63
6. Simon Fonseca Florez (Canada) – 3:55.47
7. Lucas Fackerell (Australia) – 3:58.35
8. Ignacio Stambuk (Argentina) – 3:58.56

American 15-year-old Luka Mijatovic put his foot on the gas right away in the boys 400 free final tonight, pulling into the lead on the 2nd 50 of the race. He would grow his lead to the point where he was a full second ahead of the next-fastest person at the 200m turn. That lead would grow, and Mijatovic would tear into the finish for a massive new personal best of 3:49.24. The youngster swam a phenomenal race, splitting 55.77, 58.66, 58.43, and 56.38 respectively by 100.

Additionally, Mijatovic’s performance tonight marks a new 15-16 boys National Age Group Record for the US. In fact, Mijatovic, only 15, is the only American 15-16 boy to ever break 3:50 in the event. The NAG was held by Larsen Jensen from 2002.

Japan’s Asaki Nishikawa negative split the race tonight en route to a 2nd place finish. He was out in 1:56.57 on the opening 200m, then turned on the jets and came home in 1:54.71 on the back half of the race. He overtook American Aiden Hammer, who had led the field in prelims, on the final 50 of the race. Nishikawa touched in 3:51.28 for 2nd, while Hammer ended up 3rd with a 3:52.06.

GIRLS 100 BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 56.33– Mizuki Hirai, JPN (2024)
• Meet Record: 58.38 – Maggie MacNeil, CAN (2018)
• All Comers Record: 55.93– Emma McKeon,  AUS (2021)

RESULTS:

1. Audrey Derivaux (USA) – 57.99 (Meet Record)
2. Charlotte Crush (USA) – 58.19
3. Kim Doyeon (South Korea) – 59.23
4. Jessica Cole (Australia) – 59.32
5. Clare Watson (Canada) – 1:00.05
6. Elloise Doolan (Australia) – 1:00.06
7. Matea Gigovic (Canada) – 1:00.85
8. Yuika Kaise (Japan) – 1:01.15

The girls 100 fly saw a dominant performance out of the Americans in the heat tonight. 15-year-old Audrey Derivaux, who made it into the ‘A’ final because teammate Leah Shackley pulled out of the event to focus on the 200 back, made the most of her opportunity, winning the race in a new meet record of 57.99. The previous meet record was held by Canadian Maggie MacNeil from back in 2018.

In addition to the meet record, Derivaux, only 15, has now risen to #6 all-time among American 15-16s in the event.

As for how she swam the race tonight, it was so fun to watch. Teammate Charlotte Crush took the race out fast, splitting 26.95 on the opening 50. While that was extremely fast out of Crish, Derivaux wasn’t far behind, splitting 27.33. Where Derivaux won the race, however, was on the back half, in particular the final 25 meters. She closed on Crush and eventually pulled into a slight lead just outside the flags. Derivaux came home in 30.66, considerably faster than Crush’s 2nd 50 split of 31.24. Of note, Crush’s time of 58.19 was also under the meet record. Crush’s time marks a new personal best by 0.26 seconds.

South Korea’s Kim Doyeon got the touch for 3rd tonight, swimming a 59.23, just ahead of Australia’s Jessica Cole, who came in 4th with a 59.32. The duo basically swam stroke-for-stroke the entire way through the race, and Kim was just a hair ahead at the finish.

BOYS 100 BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 50.62– Kristoff Milak, HUN (2017)
• Meet Record: 51.98– Thomas Heilman, USA (2022)
• All Comers Record: 50.45– Matthew Temple, AUS (2021)

RESULTS:

1. Kim Youngbeom (South Korea) – 52.51
2. Rowan Cox (USA) – 52.59
3. Ulises Cazau (Argentina) – 52.87
4. August Vetsch (USA) – 53.23
5. Thomas Pattison (Australia) – 53.72
6. Kosuke Hosonuma (Japan) – 53.95
7. Nicholas Duncan (Canada) – 54.10
8. Park Woomin (South Korea) – DQ

South Korea’s Kim Youngbeom got out to the early lead in the boys 100 fly final tonight, splitting a very quick 24.62 on the opening 50. After splitting 25.08 going out, American Rowan Cox began closing on Kim on the back half of the race. Kim would end up holding off Cox, but only by 0.08 seconds, getting his hands on the wall 1st in 52.51. Cox took 2nd in 52.59, marking a new career best. Kim was 52.07 in prelims this morning.

Argentina earned their first medal of the meet, seeing 18-year-old Ulises Cazau finish 3rd with a 52.87. He was out a touch faster than Cox, splitting 24.98 on the 1st 50, then came home in 27.89, touching firmly in 3rd.

GIRLS 200 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 2:03.35– Regan Smith, USA (2019)
• Meet Record: 2:08.81– Isabelle Stadden, USA (2018)
• All Comers Record: 2:03.14– Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)

RESULTS:

1. Leah Shackley (USA) – 2:08.19 (Meet Record)
2. Teagan O’Dell (USA) – 2:08.31
3. Chiaki Yamamoto (Japan) – 2:11.22
4. Madison Kryger (Canada) – 2:12.00
5. Reina Liu (Canada) – 2:13.24
6. Cecilia Dieleke (Argentina) – 2:14.53
7. Misuzu Nagaoka (Japan) – 2:17.42
8. Isabel Sheldrick (Australia) – 2:18.10

After dropping the 100 fly from her schedule tonight to focus on this race, American Leah Shackley completed her sweep of the girls backstroke events, winning the 200 back in a new meet record of 2:08.19. Not only did Shackley win gold in both backstroke races, she set the meet record in both as well.

Shackley was out fast tonight, pushing the pace early. She took her race out in a very speedy 1:01.29 on the first 100 of the race. She then split 32.84 on the 3rd 50, putting her into the 150m turn at 1:34.13. That early speed cost her a bit on the last 50, where she split 34.06, but she managed to hang on, get her hand on the wall 1st, and break the meet record. Shackley’s performance marks a new career best, bettering her previous mark of 2:08.42.

Teammate Teagan O’Dell was charging at the end of the race, and nearly pulled out the win. O’Dell was out in 1:02.50, but came home in 33.01 and 32.80 on the final pair of 50s, out-splitting Shackley by quite a bit. She finished in 2:08.31, also under the meet record of 2:08.81, which American Isabelle Stadden set back in 2018. O’Dell holds a career best of 2:07.97.

Japan’s Chiaki Yamamoto earned the bronze medal tonight with a 2:11.22. She was just off her career best with the performance.

Notably, Audrey Derivaux was back in action in the ‘B’ final, which she won convincingly in a time of 2:10.68. Derivaux’s time was fast enough to earn bronze in the ‘A’ final.

BOYS 200 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 1:55.14– Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2017)
• Meet Record: 1:57.00 – Hidekazu Takehara, JPN (2022)
• All Comers Record: 1:53.72 – Mitch Larkin, AUS (2015)

RESULTS:

1. Aiden Norman (Canada) – 1:57.67
2. Gavin Keogh (USA) – 1:58.19
3. Ethan Ekk (Canada) – 1:58.28
4. Haruto Izumi (Japan) – 2:01.72
5. Blair McKitrick (Australia) – 2:01.86
6. Jack Morrow (Australia) – 2:02.89
7. Kim Minjun (South Korea) – 2:03.81
8. Reagan Cheng (Singapore) – 2:05.68

Canadian 18-year-old Aiden Norman completed his sweep of the boys backstroke events, winning the 200 back tonight in a great race. His final time of 1:57.67 marks a new career best for Norman by 0.08 seconds. He was out with a slim lead over American Gavin Keogh and fellow Canadian Ethan Ekk, splitting 58.03 on the opening 100m compared to 58.32 for Ekk and 58.34 for Keogh. Norman would continue to grow his lead by slim margins over each of the final two 50s tonight, and he ended up winning the race by half a second.

Keogh earned silver for the Americans with a 1:58.19, while Ekk picked up bronze for Canada in 1:58.28. The swims mark career bests for both Keogh and Ekk. It was Keogh’s first time under 1:59 in the event.

GIRLS 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 3:36.19 – Canada (2017)
• Meet Record: 3:37.99 – USA (2022)
• All Comers Record: 3:30.05 – Australia (2018)

RESULTS:

1. USA ‘A’ (Erisman, Pelaez, O’Dell, Mintenko) – 3:36.49 (Meet Record)
2. Australia ‘A’ (Jansen, Casey, McPherson, Miller) – 3:39.09
3. Canada ‘A’ (Lloyd, Walters, Gigovic, Liu) – 3:42.34
4. New Zealand ‘A’ (Pedersen, Bray, Glintmeyer, Tapper) – 3:44.85
5. Japan ‘A’ (Yoshinaga, Enomoto, Yamamoto, Nagaoka) – 3:45.46
6. South Korea ‘A’ (Lee, Jung, Kim, Kim) – 3:57.31
7. Singapore ‘A’ (Mak, Tan, Goh, Ong) – 3:57.31
8. Fiji ‘A’ (Moss, Naisara, Bai, Vatubua) – 4:23.34

The USA broke a 3rd meet record on the night, this time coming in the girls 4×100 free relay. The Americans clocked a 3:36.49, shattering the previous Junior Pan Pacs Record of 3:37.99, which the US set at the last iteration of the meet in 2022. They also nearly took down the World Junior Record of 3:36.19, but fell just 0.30 seconds short of that mark.

Rylee Erisman, a 15-year-old rising star for USA Swimming, led her team off in 53.75, not only giving them a lead, but taking 0.01 seconds off the 53.76 she swam to win gold in the 100 free last night. Following Erisman, 18-year-old Erika Pelaez dove in splitting a 53.89, which is what broke the race open for the Americans, as she grew their lead to over a second ahead of Australia. Teagan O’Dell, 18, split 54.50 on the 3rd leg, then Madi Mintenko, 17, anchored in 54.35, earning gold for the US by 2.60 seconds.

Australia’s Milla Jansen (18) had a huge lead-off going against Erisman. She clocked a 53.81, a new career best, and got the Aussie through the first leg within 0.06 seconds of the US. Hannah Casey, 17, split 54.84 on the 2nd leg, then 16-year-old Lillie McPherson was 56.32 on the 3rd leg, and 18-year-old Inez Miller anchored in 54.12. Australia touched 2nd in 3:39.09.

Canada saw Delia Lloyd (55.73), Jenna Walters (55.42), Matea Gigovic (56.05), and Reina Liu (55.14) combine for a 3:42.34 to earn bronze.

BOYS 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINALS

• World Junior Record: 3:15.49 – USA (2023)
• Meet Record: 3:15.79 – USA (2022)
• All Comers Record: 3:12.26 – Australia (2016)

RESULTS:

1. Australia ‘A’ (Conias, Booth, Collins, Da Silva) – 3:18.54
2. USA ‘A’ (Seider, Vetsch, Zhao, McKean) – 3:18.97
3. Canada ‘A’ (Kim, Ekk, Brennan, Norman) – 3:19.07
4. Japan ‘A’ (Kuroda, Matsui, Izumi, Nishikawa) – 3:20.89
5. South Korea ‘A’ (Kim, Kim, Park, Won) – 3:24.96
6. Argentina ‘A’ (Cazau, Arce, Stambuk, Aguilar) – 3:30.94
7. Singapore ‘A’ (Leong, Cheng, Hee, Koh) – 3:35.84
8. Fiji ‘A’ (Younger, Taylor, Tokona, Raviko) – 3:47.31

In an exciting back-and-forth race, Australia pulled out the victory at the finish in the boys 4×100 free relay, capping off the night 3 session.

It was Canada that got out to the early lead, seeing Laon Kim swim a 49.45 on the lead-off, which was the only lead-off leg in the field under 50 seconds. Handing off a lead to Ethan Ekk, Ekk would hold that lead through his leg, where he split a 50.06, though, Australia did close the gap a bit. On the 3rd leg, the US moved into the lead, thanks to a huge leg of 48.61 from Jason Zhao. American anchor Campbell McKean looked strong on the first 50 of his leg, holding the lead against the Aussie and Canadian anchors. McKean began to run out of juice towards the end of the race, however, and Australia’s Marcus Da Silva had a heroic final lap, overtaking the US and getting his hand on the wall first.

Joshua Conias (50.57), Thomas Booth (49.63), Xavier Collins (49.79), and Da Silva (48.55) made up the Australian relay, earning gold with a time of 3:18.54.

The US held on for 2nd thanks to the efforts of Quin Seider (50.10), August Vetsch (50.04), Zhao (48.61), and McKean (50.22). They touched in 3:18.97.

Canada had Francis Brennan on the 3rd leg, where he split 50.16, and Aiden Norman on the anchor with a 49.40. Norman almost overtook McKean on the end as well, but he would fall just short, touching 3rd in 3:19.07.

South Korea’s Kim Youngbeom, the champion in the boys 100 free last night, had a big 48.67 split on the 2nd leg of the South Korean relay.