2022 Junior Pan Pacs – Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

• August 24-27, 2022
• Mark Takai Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center
• Honolulu, Hawaii (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time)
• Prelims 9:00 AM / Finals 5:00 PM (GMT-10)
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Streaming
• Five main story lines – boys
• Five main story lines – girls

The 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, which brings together swimmers from Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, and Singapore, is being hosted by the U.S. in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is open to athletes aged 13-18 as of December 31st of the competition year. Each nation is limited to two athletes in the scored A final and two in the B final.

The 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, which brings together swimmers from Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, and Singapore, is being hosted by the U.S. in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is open to athletes aged 13-18 as of December 31st of the competition year. Each nation is limited to two athletes in the scored A final and two in the B final.

Day 3 action will see heats of the 400 free, 100 fly, and 200 back. Erin Gemmell of USA will have an opportunity to break her third meet record in as many days, coming in with a seed time in the 400 free (4:06.17) that is under the current mark. Australia’s Joshua Staples, who won the 1500 free on Day 1, is top seed in the boys’ 400 free (3:50.07) but USA’s Alec Enyeart (3:50.18) and Rex Maurer (3:51.28) are also contenders.

USA’s Alex Shackell (58.33) and Bailey Hartman (58.79) lead the qualifiers in the girls’ 100 fly as the only entrants with sub-59s. Thomas Heilman (52.44) of USA and Australia’s Jesse Coleman (52.70) are the top seeds on the boys’ side.

Canada’s Reagan Rathwell owns the top entry time in the girls’ 200 back (2:09.54) but she is only .03 ahead of USA’s Teagan O’Dell (2:09.57). Americans Daniel Diehl (1:57.62), Keaton Jones (1:57.97), and Josh Zuchowski (1:58.42) and Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara (1:58.06) are within shooting distance of the meet record in the boys’ 200 back.

Girls 400 Meter Freestyle – Heats

• Jr World: 3:58.37 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2014)
• Jr Pan Pac: 4:07.10 – Leah Smith, USA (2012)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Erin Gemmell, USA – 4:08.53
2. Jillian Cox, USA – 4:10.83
3. Jamie Perkins, Australia – 4:11.68
4. Misa Okuzono, Japan – 4:11.95
5. Kathryn Hazle, Canada – 4:14.62
6. Ruka Takezawa, Japan – 4:15.46
7. Amelia Weber, Australia – 4:15.88
8. Naomi Slee, Canada – 4:18.06

New Zealand’s Summer Osborne opened heats of the girls’ 400 free with a 4:26.00 win. Hinata Umeki of Japan won heat 2 in 4:17.20, dropping about four-tenths from her seed time. Canada’s Naomi Slee was second in the heat with 4:18.06.

Australia’s Amelia Weber led the first circle-seeded heat at the 100, but USA’s Michaela Mattes took over the lead at the halfway mark. She remained in front until teammate Jillian Cox passed her on the final 100 meters to win the heat with 4:10.83. Mattes followed with 4:11.02, while USA’s Kayla Han touched third with 4:14.17.

USA’s Erin Gemmell, now the meet record-holder in the 100 free and 200 free, won the final heat with 4:08.53. Gemmell was already half a body up on the field at the first turn, followed by Australia’s Jamie Perkins and Cavan Gormsen of USA. At the 100 wall, Canada’s Kathryn Hazle moved past Gormsen into third. Misa Okuzono of Japan took over the third position at the 200 wall, where Gemmell led Perkins by 1.7 seconds. Gemmell continued to build her lead, winding up more than 3 seconds ahead at the finish. Perkins went 4:11.68 to take second place in the heat, while Okuzono was less than three-tenths behind with 4:11.95.

Boys 400 Meter Freestyle – Heats

• Jr World: 3:44.60 – Mack Horton, AUS (2014)
• Jr Pan Pac: 3:50.51 – Nicholas Caldwell, USA (2010)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Alec Enyeart, USA – 3:51.44
2. Joshua Staples, Australia – 3:53.18
3. Rex Maurer, USA – 3:53.75
4. Benjamin Goedemans, Australia – 3:54.71
5. Maki Kiriyama, Japan – 3:55.43
6. Riku Yamaguchi, Japan – 3:56.01
7. Adam Wu, Canada – 3:56.80
8. Lorne Wigginton, Canada – 3:59.74

The first heat of boys’ 400 freestyle went to New Zealand’s Larn Hamblyn-Ough in 4:06.46, a 3.6-second improvement from his entry time. Perhaps inspired, Bobby DiNunzio of USA dropped 3.3 seconds to win heat 2 in 3:56.68. Canada’s Eric Dupre was also 3.3 seconds faster than his entry time; he came in second in the heat with 4:00.75. Singapore’s Jerald Lium improved by 2 seconds to place third with 4:01.67.

USA’s Alec Enyeart dominated the first of two circle-seeded heats, touching in 3:51.44. Benjamin Goedemans of Australia (3:54.71) and Riku Yamaguchi of Japan (3:56.01) came to the wall next.

The final heat featured great racing in the middle two lanes, where Australia’s Joshua Staples and USA’s Rex Maurer traded leads and eventually finished 1-2 with Staples going 3:53.18 and Maurer stopping the clock at 3:53.75. Maki Kiriyama, who had been third throughout, came to the wall at 3:55.43.

Girls 100 Meter Butterfly – Heats

• Jr World: 56.43 – Claire Curzan, USA (2021)
• Jr Pan Pac: 58.38 – Maggie MacNeil, Canada (2018)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Alex Shackell, USA – 58.56
2. Airi Mitsui, Japan – 59.25
3. Bailey Hartman, USA – 59.37
4. Hazuki Hasegawa, Japan – 59.55
5. Ella Jansen, Canada – 59.77
6. Bella Grant, Australia – 1:00.49
7. Kamryn Cannings, Canada – 1:00.70
8. Isabella Boyd, Australia – 1:00.72

Vivita Bai from Fiji was the winner of heat 1 in 1:11.76, while New Zealand’s Charlie Twose went 1:06.77 to claim victory in heat 2.

Japan’s Hazuki Hasegawa and USA’s Tess Howley, the #3 and #6 seeds coming into the meet, battled for the win in heat 3. Hasegawa was up by three-tenths at the 50 wall and came home a tenth faster to get the win, 59.55 to 59.97. Australia’s Isabella Boyd touched third in 1:00.72.

USA’s Bailey Hartman pulled away from Canada’s Ella Jansen over the second 50 to win heat 4 with 59.37. Jansen went 59.77, while Australia’s Bella Grant claimed the third spot in the heat going 1:00.49.

Top-seeded Alex Shackell, who won a bronze medal in the 200 fly on Day 1, posted the top time of the morning with her 58.56 win in heat 5. Shackell built up a .7 lead over second place Airi Mitsui of Japan on the first 50, 27.34 to 28.05. That proved to be the difference maker as they both came home in 31.2s. Japan’s Mizuki Hirai touched third in 1:00.23.

Boys 100 Meter Butterfly – Heats

• Jr World: 50.62 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
• Jr Pan Pac: 52.37 – Daniel Bell, New Zealand (2009)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Jesse Coleman, Australia – 52.43
2. Thomas Heilman, USA – 52.75
3. Aaron Shackell, USA – 53.96
4. Tomoyuki Matsushita, Japan – 54.10
5. Seiya Shinkai, Japan – 54.32
6. Filip Senc-Samardzic, Canada – 54.55
7. William Petric, Australia – 54.67
8. Bill Dongfang, Canada – 54.80

USA’s Spencer Aurnou-Rhees won heat 1 by a large margin. Entered with no time, he clocked a 55.92 from lane 1 for the win.

Tomoyuki Matsushita from Japan improved his time by a tick in winning heat 2 with 54.10. Trailing teammate Seiya Shinkai by a tenth at the 50 wall, Matsushita charged home to win the heat by .21. Shinkai was 54.32 for second place, while Singapore’s Randall Neo took third with 55.24.

Australia’s Jesse Coleman clocked a 52.43 to win the next heat, knocking almost three-tenths off his seed time and beating USA’s Aaron Shackell by well over a body length. Shackell dropped .3 to break the 54-second barrier for the first time with 53.96. Yoshitoku Narushima of Japan also dropped from his entry time; he finished third in the heat with 54.47.

Thomas Heilman of USA, the silver medalist in both the 200 fly and 100 free, took the final heat in 52.75. Teammate Kaii Winkler came from behind on the second 50 to beat Canada’s Filip Senc-Samardzic, 54.36 to 54.55, for second place in the heat.

Girls 200 Meter Backstroke – Heats

• Jr World: 2:03.35 – Regan Smith, USA (2019)
• Jr Pan Pac: 2:08.81 – Isabelle Stadden, USA-US (2018)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Yuzuki Mizuno, Japan – 2:10.04
2. Mio Narita, Japan – 2:10.79
3. Maggie Wanezek, USA – 2:11.26
4. Kennedy Noble, USA 2:11.63
5. Regan Rathwell, Canada – 2:13.86
6. Jordan Greber, Canada – 2:15.43
7. Iona Anderson, Australia – 2:16.43
8. Jaclyn Barclay, Australia – 2:18.30

Singapore’s Carol Rachmadi took heat 1 with 2:28.65. She was followed by Mio Narita of Japan who edged USA’s Maggie Wanezek in heat 2, 2:10.79 to 2:11.26.

Natalie Mannion of USA went 2:11.80 in a strong performance in heat 2. Teammate Teagan O’Dell eked out second place over Chiaki Yamamoto of Japan, 2:13.15 to 2:13.32.

Yuzuki Mizuno of Japan dropped 1.5 seconds to take the final heat in 2:10.04. Kennedy Noble of USA, tied with Canada’s Regan Rathwell at the halfway mark, blasted a strong third 50 to leave Rathwell in her wake. Noble then outsplit Mizuno by .7 over the final 50 meters to close the gap considerably, finishing second in the heat with 2:11.63.

Boys 200 Meter Backstroke – Heats

• Jr World: 1:55.14 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2017)
• Jr Pan Pac: 1:57.20 – Jack Conger, USA (2012)

A-final qualifiers:

1. Hidekazu Takehara, Japan – 1:58.39
2. Keaton Jones, USA – 1:58.75
3. Josh Zuchowski, USA – 1:58.98
4. Benjamin Joewen, Canada – 2:01.07
5. Aiden Norman, Canada – 2:01.73
6. Evan Chee, Australia – 2:02.33
7. Matthew Magnussen, Australia – 2:02.52
8. Finn Harland, New Zealand – 2:06.69

There were only three heats of boys’ 200 back, and Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara, who was the bronze medalist in the 100 back, won the first heat in 1:58.39. He finished three body lengths ahead of Australia’s Matthew Magnussen (2:02.52) and Fergus McLachlan (2:03.23).

Keaton Jones of USA went 1:58.75 to take the next heat in dominant fashion. Behind him, Canada’s Benjamin Loewen and Australia’s Evan Chee each dropped more than a second from their entry times to finished second and third with 2:01.07 and 2:02.33. Chee, in particular, had an outstanding second 100, splitting 31.1/30.9 to pass USA’s Maximus Williamson (2:02.46) over the final 50 meters.

Daniel Diehl, the meet record-holder in the 100 back, led through the first 185 meters of the last heat. As was his wont in both prelims and finals of the 100 back, Diehl hugged the lane line throughout his race. Teammate Josh Zuchowski , 2.1 seconds behind Diehl at the halfway point, came home with 30.4/29.9 and pushed past Diehl on the last 15 meters. Zuchowski went 1:58.98 to Diehl’s 1:59.55. Third place went to Canada’s Aiden Norman (2:01.73).