• * Day 2 Finals * - just a quick update on the run

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- Murph lowers his Championship record of 52.19 from the morning heats, to a scintillating 51.94 for the 100m Back gold with a dominant turn & back half. Just 0.09 sec off his World Record!



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- Thleen fought valiantly to secure a bronze medal in the tightly-contested women's race with her 58.83, 0.22 sec off former WR holder Kylie Masse (CAN)'s winning time.



Not to make any excuses lol, but the abbreviated period between Nationals & Pan Pacs this year, along with Team USA's late arrival in Japan (jet-lag etc), appears to have possibly impacted quite a few of the American swimmers with regards to their slower swims here relative to Irvine...imo.

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- Seli led off Team USA with a 1:46.75 to help his country to a gold medal in the 4x200m Free relay.

- Nathan's 48.32 is good enough for runner up in the B final of the 100m Free final, but unfortunately not fast enough to qualify for an individual spot in this event for Worlds next year. He'll get another opportunity in the 50m Free on the last day of the competition.

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KATIE MCLAUGHLIN FOLLOWS 200 FREE BEST TIME WITH 1:55.47 RELAY SPLIT


Katie McLaughlin uncorked a very impressive 1:55.47 relay split for the Americans on the 800 free relay in Tokyo. Archive photo via Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com


After setting a personal best in the 200 free preliminaries on day 1 of the Pan Pacific Championships in 1:56.88, American Katie McLaughlin followed up with a 1:55.47 relay split on the American 800 free relay on day 2.

Prior to this year, the 21-year-old rising senior at Cal had her best season in 2015, when she placed 6th at the World Championships in the 200 fly and split 1:56.92 on the victorious American 800 free relay.

Earlier that season, McLaughlin swam a lifetime best of 1:57.55 in the 200 free. She approached that last month at U.S. Nationals, winning the consolation final in 1:58.20, and then finally erased her PB on Wednesday with her 1:56.88 in the heats. That swim got her into the B-final, where she won in 1:57.34, and cemented her spot on the 800 free relay.

Nearly a full second and a half under her flat start best, McLaughlin's 1:55.47 split stood up as the 4th-fastest flying leg in the field (Ariarne Titmus led off in 1:55.27) behind only individual medalists Taylor Ruck (1:54.08), Rikako Ikee (1:54.69) and Katie Ledecky (1:53.84).

Despite the quick splits from McLaughlin and Ledecky, Allison Schmitt's 1:58.62 lead-off put them in a hole they couldn't quite dig themselves out of, as the Aussies broke the Commonwealth Record and won gold in 7:44.12 with the Americans back in 7:44.37 for silver.



McLaughlin also recorded a personal best in the 100 freestyle during day 2 prelims, clocking 54.14 to narrowly miss a spot in the 'B' heat as the 5th fastest American.



Based on what we've seen so far in Tokyo, McLaughlin will lock up her spot on the World Championship team in the 100 fly, and will be a very valuable asset next summer on the relay after that 1:55.47 split.


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Grieshop 5th American, so out of 4free finals altogether. Katie McL into B finals with the 6th overall time, but Dahlia and Comerford placed 2nd and 5th.

Really hope that Regan Smith will choose Cal. At nationals, she used underwater to keep up with Baker in 200 back (Baker then improved her turn in 100 back, just 2 days later). Yesterday, Smith used underwater to stay with McLaughlin in 100 fly. Teri McKeever certainly can coach Smith to get even better and continue the back & fly tradition at Cal.

It was odd that U.S. coaches didn't use Baker in 4x200 relay even though she is a great 200 freestyler among her many other talents.

Katie McL, you're going to Worlds!!

PAN PACS DAY 3: CONGER, MCLAUGHLIN LOCK IN 2019 WORLDS TRIPS



Butterflyers Jack Conger and Katie McLaughlin locked in trips to the 2019 World Championships as a part of Team USA, the result of day 3 of the Pan Pacific Championships. Neither bettered their times from U.S. Nationals, but neither had to. Conger took silver behind Caeleb Dressel, and McLaughlin won the B final while second American Mallory Comerford failed to beat her time from Nationals.

On a more sour note...

AMERICANS DQED FOR SWIMMING OUT OF ORDER, BRAZIL BUMPED TO RELAY GOLD



The American quartet of Caeleb Dressel, Blake Pieroni, Zach Apple and Nathan Adrian had combined to win gold in the men's 400 free relay in a new meet record of 3:11.67 at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, but shortly after the relay they were disqualified for swimming out of order.

Sources tell SwimSwam that the swimmers were told the wrong order by the coaches. Adrian had narrowly held off the Brazilian with a 47.27 anchor leg of his own.

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Guess this incident calls for Dave to lead the men next summer in Korea.

Last day- Prelims:

-Baker 3rd in 2 Back prelims (2:08.38), with Regan Smith leading the way as top qualifier (2:07.86)
-Murph breaks CR as the top seed (1:54.07), but a huge swim by Austin Katz (UT) bumps Pebs into the B-final (1:55.95, good for 3rd overall)
-Abbey 6th into 50 free A finals!
-Nathan- NS 50 free (perhaps relay tonight?)

We really don't need Taylor Ruck to step foot onto LSJU next fall.

Had missed all the action from yesterday's morning heats & the final, need to catch up lol

swimmer19 said:

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Last day- Prelims:

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ICYMI, Prenot had also downed breast legend Kitajima's Pan Pacs record in the 200m Breast

swimmer19 said:

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Katie McL, you're going to Worlds!!

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solobear said:

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Yesterday, Smith used underwater to stay with McLaughlin in 100 fly. Teri McKeever certainly can coach Smith to get even better and continue the back & fly tradition at Cal.

It was odd that U.S. coaches didn't use Baker in 4x200 relay even though she is a great 200 freestyler among her many other talents.

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Oh, let's all savour Katie's 100m Fly victory in the B final here:




Though Thleen's a veritable stud in the short course yards edition of the 200 free, reckon she is basically an unproven factor in the LCM version, having rarely raced this event seriously. Believe Baker's most recently recorded 200m Free individual swim was from 2015, lifetime best = 2:00.17 from 2014 - which is 3 to 4 sec away from being seriously considered for this relay...

• Last Day Finals

- Murph bested his PB from Rio for a convincing victory in the 200m Back, lowering his meet record from prelims by half a sec.






- Pebs won the B final, and is confirmed for the 2019 Worlds team thanks to his 200m Back time from Nationals.




- Ryan went on to lead off Team USA (Nathan anchoring) to the gold in the 4x100m Medley relay by a (very) slim margin over Japan & Australia.

- Jarod contributed to Team Philippines on their fly leg.




- Prenot ended up 5th in the 200m Breast A final. His 2:07.28 from Nationals has Josh into Worlds as the fastest American (by far).


- Abbey improved upon her 50m Free time from Nationals, claiming 5th in the A final and thus securing her individual event spot for Worlds (think that Weitzeil had already qualified via the 4x100m Free relay?).




- Thleen out-classed incoming superstar sapling Taylor Ruck (who in turn just out-touched 2020 phenom recruit Regan Smith) to, appropriately enough, break Lizzie's Pan Pac Championship record from 2010 by over a second - well done! Only Americans to have ever swum faster are Missy, DiRado & Hoelzer.






Thleen Bean closed out her Pan Pacs by leading off USA's 4x100m Medley relay in their valiant effort which culminated in a silver medal, faster than Russia's winning time @ 2018 Euros.

• UPDATE =>

BAKER WINS 200 BACK GOLD AT PAN PACS

Headline has absolutely nothing to do with bears, but take it for all it's worth:

FINAL ROSTERS: KING INTO WORLDS IN 200 BREAST, BUMPS GALAT TO PAN AMS

So with that being said, here's what Bears have for this remaining summer and next summer:

Junior Pan Pacs (later this month in Fiji):
-Izzy: 200 free, 100 fly, and 4FR

Worlds (2019, Gwangju, Korea):
-Abbey: 50 free, 4FR
-Thleen: 50/100/200 back and 2IM
-Katie: 100 fly (and possibly relays)
-Nathan: 4FR
-Seli: 200 free
-Josh: 200 breast
-Pebs: 200 back
-Murph: 50/100/200 back

WUGs (2019, Napoli, Italy):
-Trenton: 200 fly, 8FR
-Nick Norman: 800/1500 free
-Sean: 400 IM
-Izzy: 8FR
-Bryce: 100 back
-Michael Jensen: 50 free

Pan Ams (2019, Lima, Peru):
-Shields: 100/200 fly
-Nathan: 50/100 free
-Daniel Carr: 100/200 back
-Josa: 100 fly

No bets on Izzy into WUGs, especially since she'll only be swimming as part of the 800 Free Relay; as per this comment on SwimSwam, she could be bumped down to Pan Ams, or even entirely off a team for next summer: "I think there's so much variability with WUGs that it's almost too difficult to predict the roster. There are so many swimmers that are unknowns (whether or not they're enrolled in school): Meitz, Bratton, Caneta, Galat, Gabby Deloof, Meaghan Raab, and Emily Escobedo to name a few. The 200 free could be turned on it's head if these "age" eligible swimmers are still enrolled in college and working towards their degree. And, of course, if the roster for WUGs changes, then so does the roster for Pan Ams. I have the feeling lots of news is yet to come"

Some final posts from Tokyo...
https://instagr.am/p/BmVlXyTjUFA
https://instagr.am/p/BmZq2wyDpx6
https://instagr.am/p/Bmb-cj9B5nQ
https://instagr.am/p/BmZL1wGnIg_
https://instagr.am/p/Bma9rAcjHEY
https://instagr.am/p/BmZq1PZhzyM
https://instagr.am/p/BmcMIzRFFFs
https://instagr.am/p/Bmb59yJFeX2
https://instagr.am/p/BmZ9FhRhTXr

Thanks to everyone for those amazing posts & pictures!

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Get To Know The Impressive Collegiate Footprint Of Team USA Swimmers Who Medaled At Pan Pacs



At a meet where the Americans won more than half of the available gold medals, Team USA's collegiate footprint was front and center.


1) Medals Galore

Fifty-five percent of Team USA athletes medaled, with standout performances by Katie Ledecky (Stanford), Simone Manuel (Stanford) and Caeleb Dressel (Florida), who each earned five medals. Meanwhile, Leah Smith (Virginia) and Kathleen Baker (Cal) tallied four medals apiece in the pool.


2) Spanning The Country

USA Swimming's Pan Pacs roster represented 20 universities: Cal (9 athletes), Stanford (6), Georgia (6), Auburn (3), Indiana (3), Louisville (3), Texas (3), Arizona (2), Florida (2), NC State (2), Northwestern (2), Southern California (2), Columbia, Duke, Emory, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia.


3) The Rivalry Continues

Pac 12 rivals Stanford and Cal tied with 11 medals each.


6) Watch Out For Murphy

En route to three gold medals, Ryan Murphy (Cal) set a Pan Pac record in the 100-meter backstroke, nearly set a world record in the 200 backstroke and led the way for Team USA in the 400 medley relay.


8) Breaking It Down

Here's a look at the medal breakdown by conference:

Pac-12: 24 medals (10 golds, 9 silvers, 5 bronzes)
SEC: 16 medals (7 golds, 4 silvers, 5 bronzes)
ACC: 8 medals (5 silvers, 3 bronzes)
Big 10: 7 medals (4 golds, 3 silvers)
Big 12: 4 medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
UAA (DII): 1 medal (1 gold)

And by school:

Cal Berkeley: 11 medals (6 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes)
Stanford: 11 medals (3 golds, 5 silvers, 3 bronzes)
Auburn: 5 medals (3 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Florida: 5 medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 2 bronzes)
Georgia: 5 medals (3 golds, 2 silvers)
Louisville: 5 medals (4 silvers, 1 bronze)
Indiana: 4 medals (2 golds, 2 silvers)
Texas: 4 medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Virginia: 4 medals (1 silver, 3 bronzes)
Northwestern: 3 medals (2 golds, 1 silver)
Arizona: 1 medal (1 silver)
Emory: 1 medal (1 gold)
Southern California: 1 medal (1 gold)

Pan Pacs, the biggest meet of the year for U.S. swimmers, was a display of American talent in the water, helped determine the roster for the 2019 world championships and gave Team USA athletes a glimpse of the city they hope to return to in less than two years for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Get To Know The Impressive Collegiate Footprint Of Team USA Swimmers Who Medaled At Pan Pacs



At a meet where the Americans won more than half of the available gold medals, Team USA's collegiate footprint was front and center.


1) Medals Galore

Fifty-five percent of Team USA athletes medaled, with standout performances by Katie Ledecky (Stanford), Simone Manuel (Stanford) and Caeleb Dressel (Florida), who each earned five medals. Meanwhile, Leah Smith (Virginia) and Kathleen Baker (Cal) tallied four medals apiece in the pool.


2) Spanning The Country

USA Swimming's Pan Pacs roster represented 20 universities: Cal (9 athletes), Stanford (6), Georgia (6), Auburn (3), Indiana (3), Louisville (3), Texas (3), Arizona (2), Florida (2), NC State (2), Northwestern (2), Southern California (2), Columbia, Duke, Emory, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia.


3) The Rivalry Continues

Pac 12 rivals Stanford and Cal tied with 11 medals each.


6) Watch Out For Murphy

En route to three gold medals, Ryan Murphy (Cal) set a Pan Pac record in the 100-meter backstroke, nearly set a world record in the 200 backstroke and led the way for Team USA in the 400 medley relay.


8) Breaking It Down

Here's a look at the medal breakdown by conference:

Pac-12: 24 medals (10 golds, 9 silvers, 5 bronzes)
SEC: 16 medals (7 golds, 4 silvers, 5 bronzes)
ACC: 8 medals (5 silvers, 3 bronzes)
Big 10: 7 medals (4 golds, 3 silvers)
Big 12: 4 medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
UAA (DII): 1 medal (1 gold)

And by school:

Cal Berkeley: 11 medals (6 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes)
Stanford: 11 medals (3 golds, 5 silvers, 3 bronzes)
Auburn: 5 medals (3 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Florida: 5 medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 2 bronzes)
Georgia: 5 medals (3 golds, 2 silvers)
Louisville: 5 medals (4 silvers, 1 bronze)
Indiana: 4 medals (2 golds, 2 silvers)
Texas: 4 medals (2 golds, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Virginia: 4 medals (1 silver, 3 bronzes)
Northwestern: 3 medals (2 golds, 1 silver)
Arizona: 1 medal (1 silver)
Emory: 1 medal (1 gold)
Southern California: 1 medal (1 gold)

Pan Pacs, the biggest meet of the year for U.S. swimmers, was a display of American talent in the water, helped determine the roster for the 2019 world championships and gave Team USA athletes a glimpse of the city they hope to return to in less than two years for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.


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Cal legacy/LSJU law school drop out Bill Walton on the Golden State/Conference of Champions: If the Pilgrims had landed on the West Coast, the East Coast would still be wilderness.

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U.S. TEAM FOR 2019 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (FULL ROSTER)


https://instagr.am/p/BnoajIzBA8I

WOMEN'S U.S. TEAM

Abbey Weitzeil | 4x100 FR | 50 free
Kathleen Baker | 50 back | 100 back | 200 back | 200 IM
Katie McLaughlin | 100 fly




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MEN'S U.S. TEAM

Nathan Adrian | 4x100 FR
Andrew Seliskar | 200 free
Ryan Murphy | 50 back | 100 back | 200 back
Josh Prenot | 200 breast
Jacob Pebley | 200 back




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SWIMSWAM'S OFFICIAL/UNOFFICIAL BALLOT FOR THE 2018 GOLDEN GOGGLES


2018 GOLDEN GOGGLES NOMINEES SWIMSWAM SELECTIONS


Breakout Performer of the Year

• Michael Andrew
• Zach Harting
• Austin Katz - SwimSwam's Choice
• Andrew Seliskar

Perseverance Award

• Ella Eastin - SwimSwam's Choice
• Katie McLaughlin
• Micah Sumrall

Coach of the Year

• Jack Bauerle
• Dave Durden
• David Marsh
• Teri McKeever
• Greg Meehan - SwimSwam's Choice

Relay Performance of the Year
As we understand, the men's 400 free relay was nominated, but were on the ballot in the wrong order sonevermind. The only 2 American relay golds at Pan Pacs - the 800 free relay had the Haas 1:43.78 anchor, while the medley relay had a thrilling finish with Nathan Adrian running down Katsumi Nakamura (and Kyle Chalmers almost running them both down). Both times need to get way faster to contend in Gwangju, but Haas' relay anchor takes the cake for us.

• Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships - SwimSwam's Choice
• Men's 4x100m Medley Relay, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships

Female Race of the Year

• Katie Ledecky, 1500m Freestyle, 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series at Indianapolis
• Kathleen Baker, 100m Backstroke, 2018 Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships - SwimSwam's Choice
• Micah Sumrall, 200m Breaststroke, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
• Haley Anderson, Open Water 10K, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships

Male Race of the Year
If Andrew beats a full-strength Dressel in the 50, or clips Dressel's 21.15 from Worlds last year, he's the choice. As it stands, though, Murphy's 51.94 in the 100 back, .09 from a World Record, was as close as the American men came to a World Record this season, so we'll give him the nod.

• Michael Andrew, 50m Freestyle, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
• Zane Grothe, 800m Freestyle, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships - SwimSwam's Choice
• Ryan Murphy, 100m Backstroke, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships
• Chase Kalisz, 200m Individual Medley, 2018 Pan Pacific Championships

Female Athlete of the Year

• Haley Anderson
• Kathleen Baker
• Katie Ledecky - SwimSwam's Choice

Male Athlete of the Year
t's so hard to judge Chase Kalisz's swims when he's so far ahead of the rest of the US (and, really, the world) right now. Both he and Murphy took 2 individual wins at Pan Pacs. Murphy picked up a medley medal as well, and broke 2 Championship Records to boot (though, Kalisz is chasing Phelps' records). Kalisz had two #1 World Rankings Murphy had only 1, and Wilimosvky none. But Wilimovsky won the 1500 and took silver in the 800 in the pool, AND won the open water 10k the latter of which doesn't carry meaningful World Rankings. We'll give the edge to Murphy, because of the World #1 rankings, and the fact that his 100 back was just .09 from the World Record. But know that we were really tempted by the Wilimovsky pool-open water double.

• Chase Kalisz
• Ryan Murphy - SwimSwam's Choice
• Jordan Wilimovsky

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https://instagr.am/p/BoNEGudhB-B







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Annual USA Swimming Awards Presented at U.S. Aquatic Sports Convention



By USA Swimming | Saturday, September 29, 2018

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Fifteen annual awards honoring the best of American swimming in 2018 were presented at the USA Swimming House of Delegates meeting on Friday at the United States Aquatic Sports Convention.

Among the highlighted honors was the Phillips 66 Performance of the Year Award presented to Kathleen Baker (Winston-Salem, N.C./Team Elite/California Aquatics) for her world-record performance of 58.00 seconds in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships.

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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SWIMSWAM'S OFFICIAL/UNOFFICIAL BALLOT FOR THE 2018 GOLDEN GOGGLES

Perseverance Award

• Ella Eastin
• Katie McLaughlin
• Micah Sumrall

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Golden Goggles at a Glance: Perseverance Award

By USA Swimming | Wednesday, October 3, 2018

• 2018 Golden Goggle Awards Nominees
• 2018 Golden Goggle Awards Online Voting
• 2018 Golden Goggle Awards Event Information

In the lead up to the Nov. 19 Golden Goggle Awards, USA Swimming will highlight the eight award categories.


Perseverance Award

This award is given to the athlete who came back from adversity, retirement, sickness, injury, etc., to have an outstanding performance(s) in 2018, with special emphasis on the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.



Katie McLaughlin

Following a breakout 2015 season, Katie McLaughlin seemed well positioned to make a run at the 2016 Olympic Team before fracturing two vertebrae in her lower neck in January 2016. She's been on the comeback trail ever since, and McLaughlin completed her return to major international competition with a runner-up finish in the 100m butterfly at Phillips 66 Nationals in a lifetime-best swim of 57.51. In Tokyo, McLaughlin earned a silver medal as a member of the 4x200m freestyle relay.

USA Swimming Sets 2019 World University Games Roster

6 Golden Bear Bros selected for the 2019 World University Games @ Naples, Italy: Sean Grieshop, Connor Hoppe, Michael Jensen, Trenton Julian, Bryce Mefford & Nick Norman

• https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2019-world-university-games-roster.pdf

https://instagr.am/p/BpFJfakFSzV

Six Bears Named To U.S. Roster For World University Games



Cal Sends Most Athletes Of Any School On Men's Side


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None from the women's team, though we already have Bug, Abbey & Thleen repping Team USA at the highest level 2019 World Championships @ Gwangju, S. Korea...

• UPDATE => According to SwimSwam:

EASTIN, APPLE HEAD USA SWIMMING'S 2019 WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES ROSTER

CHANGES FROM OUR PROJECTIONS

WUGs eligible:

• Gabby Deloof was already qualified for the Worlds team, but remains eligible for WUGs despite finishing her NCAA career last spring. She jumps into both the 100 and 200 frees, bumping former relay-only swimmers Isabel Ivey, Geena Freriks and Lucie Nordmann.

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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WUGs eligible:

• Gabby Deloof was already qualified for the Worlds team, but remains eligible for WUGs despite finishing her NCAA career last spring. She jumps into both the 100 and 200 frees, bumping former relay-only swimmers Isabel Ivey, Geena Freriks and Lucie Nordmann.

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Any chance Izzy may make Pan Ams later that summer?

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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SWIMSWAM'S OFFICIAL/UNOFFICIAL BALLOT FOR THE 2018 GOLDEN GOGGLES

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https://instagr.am/p/BqYdclMn-Ig




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https://instagr.am/p/BqYeFooHsjl




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https://instagr.am/p/BqYusDdHRtO




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https://instagr.am/p/BqYwlY4HtXu




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https://instagr.am/p/Bq72FRaAFB8

USA SWIMMING NAMES DAVE DURDEN, GREG MEEHAN AS 2020 OLYMPIC COACHES

Congrats to Dave Durden. A well deserving honor!