U.S. swimmers set multiple championship records and a world record at 2026 Pan Pacific Championships
American athletes broke several meet records and posted a new world record in the mixed 4×100 m medley relay during the first day of competition in Irvine, California.
American swimmers dominated the opening day of the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, posting multiple championship records and a new world record.
Gretchen Walsh lowered her own championship record in the women’s 50 m butterfly, winning in 24.65 seconds, while teammate Kate Douglass finished second. In the men’s 50 m butterfly, Australia’s Ben Armbruster claimed gold with a time of 22.75 seconds, setting a new meet record.
Lani Pallister of Australia set a championship record in the women’s 200 m freestyle, touching in 1:53.67, and Luke Hobson of the United States broke the men’s 200 m freestyle meet record with a 1:43.85.
In the women’s 100 m backstroke, Katharine Berkoff of the United States won in 57.93 seconds, narrowly missing Regan Smith’s prelims mark. Canada’s Blake Tierney captured the men’s 100 m backstroke title in 53.18 seconds.
Sam Short of Australia set a new championship record in the men’s 800 m freestyle, finishing in 7:37.02, and Katie Ledecky of the United States won the women’s 1500 m freestyle in 15:36.06, the 21st-fastest time ever recorded.
The highlight of the session was the mixed 4×100 m medley relay, where the United States team (Will Modglin, Van Mathias, Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass) posted a world-record time of 3:36.70, improving the previous record by 0.73 seconds.
"Van Mathias delivered an exceptionally fast breaststroke split of 57.30 seconds, the third-fastest in history," the U.S. team’s spokesperson noted.
Australia and Canada rounded out the podium in the relay, finishing second and third respectively.