Walsh falls short as Harris wins women's 100 m freestyle at Pan Pacific Championships
Australia's Meg Harris claimed gold in the women's 100 m freestyle, edging out American Gretchen Walsh, while other finals saw record-breaking performances and multiple medals for the United States.
The second night of the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine featured finals in the 400 IM, 100 m freestyle, 100 m breaststroke, 50 m backstroke and the 4×200 m freestyle relays. In the women's 100 m freestyle, Australia's Meg Harris touched first in 52.60 seconds, narrowly beating American Gretchen Walsh, who finished in 52.78. Olivia Wunsch earned bronze for Australia with a 52.98 split, while Simone Manuel placed fourth for the United States.
In the men's 100 m freestyle, Jack Alexy of the United States set a championship record of 47.14 seconds to win gold. Patrick Sammon, also from the United States, took silver in 47.62, and Brazil's Gui Caribe earned bronze in 47.89.
Canada's Summer McIntosh broke the Pan Pacific record in the women's 400 IM, finishing in 4:28.01. Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita set a new championship record of 4:06.75 to win the men's 400 IM, with American Carson Foster taking silver.
American Van Mathias captured the men's 100 m breaststroke title in a championship-record 58.02, just shy of his own American record. Japan's Shin Ohashi set a new world-junior record for second place.
In the women's 100 m breaststroke, U.S. swimmer McKenzie Siroky won in 1:05.32, with China's Tang Qianting and Japan's Satomi Suzuki rounding out the podium.
Katharine Berkoff of the United States set an American and championship record of 26.90 seconds to win the women's 50 m backstroke, while Regan Smith earned silver. Quintin McCarty claimed the men's 50 m backstroke title in a championship record of 24.51, ahead of Australia's Isaac Cooper.
The United States also secured multiple relay medals, though specific times and placements were not detailed in the recap.