Pan Pacific Junior Championships 2024
The first session of the 2024 Junior Pan Pacs begins in Canberra, Australia. For locals, it’s Wednesday morning; for those in America, it’s Tuesday night. This first day heats session will be quite short, featuring heats in the 200m freestyle, 100m backstroke, and 200m butterfly. There will also be timed finals today in the boys’ 800m freestyle and girls’ 1500m freestyle. There is only one heat in the girls’ mile, so that will be swum during the finals. There are two heats in the boys’ 800m freestyle, with the slower of the two taking place at the end of the heats session this morning.
DAY 1 PROVISIONAL SCHEDULE
- Girls 200 Freestyle – Preliminaries
- Boys 200 Freestyle – Preliminaries
- Girls 100 m backstroke – heats
- 100 m backstroke boys – heats
- Girls 200 m butterfly – heats
- Boys 200 m Butterfly – Heats
- Boys 800 Freestyle – Slow Race
If you want to recap how Junior Pan Pacs work, each country can only send two of its swimmers to the A final, meaning it’s not necessarily (or often) the top 8 swimmers from the heats who make it to the A final. There will be a B final where swimmers won’t compete for a medal, but will get another chance to swim in the final. For example, the USA entered six swimmers this morning for the girls’ 200 freestyle. Only the top 2 Americans will make it to the A final.
Speaking of which, it is American Madi Mintenko who enters the girls’ 200 freestyle this morning as the top seed. She entered with a time of 1:58.07, making her the only girls under 1:59 in the field. She has a tough job ahead of her, however, as 6 other swimmers in the field are seeded under 2:00.
Not one but two Americans set a meet record in the girls’ 100-meter backstroke this morning. Leah Shackley is number one with 59.25, while Teagan O’Dell is number two with 59.51. Both participants are below the JPP record of 59.59, which the American Katharina Berkoff in 2018. This is an event where the US girls have to compete against their teammates. There are 4 girls in the field seeded under 1:00 this morning, all 4 of them are American, meaning 2 of those girls will be knocked out of the medal race by their teammates.
Canadian Aiden Norman comes in as the top seed in the boys’ 100m backstroke by a wide margin. Norman finishes with a time of 53.99, putting him in the lead by almost a full second.
15-year-old American Audrey Derivaux comes in under the Junior Pan Pac record in the girls’ 200m butterfly. Derivaux’s set time of 2:07.70 is just under the meet record of 2:07.82 set by Japan’s Airi Mitsui in 2022. In addition, Derivaux is at the top of the seeding list with a lead of almost 3 seconds.
Although the boys’ 800m freestyle is the slower of the two this morning, there will be some great swimming. Luka Mijatovic is the No. 3 seed, but he’s also the No. 3 American, so he’ll have to compete in the slower heat this morning. His start time of 7:57.94 is one of only 4 sub-8:00 starts in the event.
GIRLS 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMINARY
- World record juniors: 1:53.65 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
- Competition record: 1:56.15 – Erin Gemmell, USA (2022)
- Overall record: 1:52.23 – Ariarne Titmus, AUS (2024)
TOP 8 QUALIFIERS
- Madi Mintenko (USA) – 1:58.81
- Kennedi Dobson (USA) – 1:58.90
- Inez Miller (AUS) – 1:58.94
- Milla Jansen (AUS) – 1:59.70
- Ella Cosgrove (CAN) – 2:01.84
- Jenna Walters (CAN) – 2:02.45
- Lee Won (KOR) – 2:02.51
- Milana Tapper (NZL) – 2:02.53
The girls’ 200m freestyle started with a bang, with 4 girls going under 2:00, including 3 in 1:58. The leader was Madi Mintenko (USA), who swam a time of 1:58.81. She had a thrilling duel with her American teammate Kennedi Dobson in the final heat of the morning, and the two edged each other out for the lead twice in the competition. Mintenko was just off her personal best of 1:58.07, while Dobson’s performance was her first sub-1:59 time in the competition.
Following the American duo were the Australian duo of Inez Miller and Milla Jansen. Miller delivered a phenomenal race in the penultimate heat this morning, setting a new personal best of 1:58.94. Like Dobson, this was Miller’s first sub-1:59 time in the competition. Jansen narrowly missed her personal best of 1:59.52, coming in fourth with a time of 1:59.70.
Amelia Weber also showed an impressive time of 2:00.29 in Australia. Although this was the fifth fastest time of the morning, Weber was the third fastest Australian and therefore has to withdraw to the B final.
BOYS 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMINARY EVALUATION
- Junior World Record: 1:42.97 – David Popovici, ROU (2022)
- Competition record: 1:47.11 – Flynn Southam, AUS (2022)
- Overall record: 1:43.86 – Michael Phelps, USA (2007)
TOP 8 QUALIFIERS
- Luka Mijatovic (USA) – 1:47.96
- Gregg Enoch (USA) – 1:48.97
- Ethan Ekk (CAN) – 1:49.29
- Marcus Da Silva (AUS) – 1:49.39
- Lucas Fackerell (AUS) – 1:49.71
- Laon Kim (CAN) – 1:49.82
- Kazusa Kuroda (JPN) – 1:50.63
- Kaito Tsujimori (JPN) – 1:50.87
15-year-old American Luka Mijatovic put in a great performance in the boys’ 200m freestyle heats this morning. The young man, who was the only 15-year-old to make the final, secured the top spot for tonight with a stunning time of 1:47.96, surpassing Mijatovic’s previous best of 1:48.73. In addition, he is now the fastest 15-year-old American in the history of the event and the third fastest 15-16-year-old American of all time.
The USA made a clear statement this morning in the boys’ 200m freestyle: 18-year-old Gregg Enoch finished second with a time of 1:48.97. This was also an enormous achievement for Enoch, who improved his set time of 1:48.97 by two seconds.
It is noteworthy that Mijatovic is scheduled to swim in the first heat of the boys’ 800m freestyle at the end of this session.
It wasn’t just Mijatovic and Enoch for the USA, though. 18-year-old American Jason Zhao ran a time of 1:48.98 this morning, the third fastest time overall. Unfortunately for Zhao, he was also the third fastest American, putting him as the top seed heading into the B final tonight. Norvin Clotz was also in the top eight this morning with a time of 1:49.80, but he will also compete for the USA in the B final. The Americans did so well in this competition this morning that 17-year-old Aiden Hammer ran a time of 1:50.60 and is eliminated from the final altogether. This performance is Hammer’s personal best by over a second.
17-year-old Canadian Ethan Ekk clocked a time of 1:49.29 to secure 3rd place for tonight. Ekk maintains his personal best of 1:49.15, which he swam earlier this summer. 16-year-old Canadian Laon Kim also made it to the A final, swimming a time of 1:49.82.
In Australia, two boys stayed under 1:50 this morning. Marcus Da Silva and Lucas Fackerell ran 1:49.39 and 1:49.71 respectively to take 4th and 5th place this morning.
GIRLS, 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMINARY EVALUATION
- Junior World Record: 57.57 – Regan Smith, USA (2019)
- Competition record: 59.59 – Katharina BerkoffUnited States (2018)
- All-Comers Record: 57.41 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2024)
TOP 8 QUALIFIERS
- Leah Shackley (USA) – 59.69
- Charlotte Crush (USA) – 1:00.10
- Delia Lloyd (CAN) – 1:01.01
- Madison Kryger (CAN) – 1:01.16
- Chiaki Yamamoto (JPN) – 1:01.66
- Zoe Ammundsen (AUS) – 1:01.88
- Jessica Wilson (AUS) – 1:02.25
- Isabelle Gibson (NZL) – 1:02.52
The USA continued its winning streak into the third event of the morning, with 18-year-old Leah Shackley taking the lead in the girls’ 100m backstroke. Shackley was in a class of her own this morning, swimming a time of 59.69, making her the only swimmer in the field to go under 1:00. Shackley was just off her personal best of 59.25 and well off the meet record of 59.59, which she will attempt to break tonight.
The Americans were the only four swimmers to swim under 1:00, and they posted the four fastest times of the morning. 16-year-old Charlotte Crush came in second at 1:00.10, while Erika Pelaez (18) swam 1:00.57 and Rylee Erisman (15) swam 1:00.87. Notably, the Americans were the only swimmers to swim under 1:01 this morning. The No. 3 tonight is Canadian Delia Lloyd, who swam 1:01.01 this morning.
Canadian Madison Kryger will be fourth tonight with a time of 1:01.16.
Japan had a very strong performance with Chiaki Yamamoto, who achieved a time of 1:01.66 and will be seeded 5th tonight.
100 m backstroke, boys – heats
- Junior World Record: 52.34 – Miron Lifincev, RUS (2024)
- Competition record: 53.27 – Daniel Diehl, USA (2022)
- All-Comers Record: 52.38 – Mitch Larkin, AUS (2019)
TOP 8 QUALIFIERS
- Aiden Norman (CAN) – 54.53
- Blake Amlicke (USA) – 55.31
- Sam Lorenz (USA) – 55.55
- Kim Ninjun (KOR) – 55.72
- Jack Morrow (AUS) – 55.96
- Haruto Izumi (JPN) – 56.02
- Thomas Booth (AUS) – 56.47
- Benjamin Winterborn (CAN) – 56.48
GIRLS 200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMINARY EVALUATION
- World record juniors: 2:03.03 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
- Competition record: 2:07.82 – Airi Mitsui, JPN (2022)
- All-Comers Record: 2:05.20 – Elizabeth Dekkers, AUS (2024)
TOP 8 QUALIFIERS
- Audrey Derivaux (USA) – 2:09.31
- Elloise Doolan (AUS) – 2:11.75
- Jessica Cole (AUS) – 2:11.77
- Misa Okuzono (JPN) – 2:11.91
- Kelsey Zhang (USA) – 2:12.68
- Clare Watson (CAN) – 2:13.12
- Kim Doyeon (KOR) – 2:14.12
- Yuika Kaise (JPN) – 2:15.20
YOUNG 200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMINARY EVALUATION
- Junior World Record: 1:53.79 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
- Competition record: 1:55.81 – Aaron Shackell, USA (2022)
- Overall record: 1:52.09 – Michael Phelps, USA (2007)
TOP 8 QUALIFIERS
BOYS 800 FREESTYLE – SLOW HEAT
- Junior World Record: 7:43.37 – Lorenzo Galossi, ITA (2022)
- Competition record: 7:55.16 – Bobby Finke, USA (2016)
- All-Comers Record: 7:40.39 – Sam Short, AUS (2023)
