Speedo Pan Pacs recap
And just like with Nationals, here's a belated Pan Pacs wrap up post.
TEAM SPEEDO SWIMMERS AND LZR RACER ELITE STAR AT THE PAN PACS
The 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships are officially underway at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine and the first night of competition was an exciting one for Team Speedo. Team Speedo stars from the USA, Australia, Canada and around the globe are all in action in Irvine.
It was a strong event for Team Speedo and a sweep for the Speedo LZR Racer Elite in the first race of the night - the women’s 50m fly. Team Speedo stars Emily Seebohm (AUS) and Christine Magnuson (USA) finished second and third, respectively. Marieke Guehrer (AUS), the reigning World Champion in the event, touched first in 25.99. All three medalists were wearing the Speedo LZR Racer Elite.
In the women’s 200m freestyle, Team Speedo star Dana Vollmer (USA) clocked the third-fastest time in the world this year, finishing first in the B Final in a season-best time of 1:56.47 to not only win the heat, but also secure her spot in the 200m free in Shanghai. In the A Final, American Record-holder Allison Schmitt (USA), wearing the Speedo LZR Racer Elite, set a championship record and won her first major international title, touching the wall first in 1:56.10.
It was a sweep for Team Speedo in the men’s 200m freestyle, as star Ryan Lochte (USA), who many are arguing is the best swimmer in the world right now, won his first title of the meet in the 200m freestyle, touching first in 1:45.30 for a personal best and the fastest time in the world this year. Team Speedo’s Tae Hwan Park (KOR) and Peter Vanderkaay (USA) finished second and third.
In the star-studded women’s 100m backstroke, Team Speedo stars Natalie Coughlin (USA) and Emily Seebohm (AUS) went head-to-head with Seebohm winning gold in 59.45. Coughlin, who recently returned to the pool after an 18 month break from the sport, finished third in an impressive 59.70.
Team Speedo superstar Michael Phelps took to the pool for his first race of the meet - and his signature event - the 200m fly. It was a dominant win for Phelps, who finished first in 1:54.11, to defend his Pan Pac title and clock the fastest time in the world this year in the event.
In the first distance event of the night, Team Speedo star Kate Ziegler (USA) made her comeback official, winning the 800m freestyle in 8:21.59 with a great last 100m and an almost unheard-of negative split. Her time was just three hundredths off the fastest time in the world this year.
Racing in the Speedo LZR Racer Elite, Canada’s Ryan Cochrane clocked the fastest time in the world this year in the men’s 1500m freestyle, touching first in 14:49.47 to win the first major international title of his career - and the first medal for Speedo-sponsored Team Canada at these Pan Pacific Championships.
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TEAM SPEEDO TEAMS AND ATHLETES DOMINATE AT PAN PACS
It was another dominant performance for Team Speedo at the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine with Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin and Michael Phelps earning gold medals on the second night of competition. The United States won gold in all but three events Thursday with its second-day medal tally totaling 13 - seven gold, one silver and five bronze, bringing Team USA’s medal count in all events to 26.
In the first event of the night, 11-time Olympic Medalist and Team Speedo star Natalie Coughlin raced her way to a gold medal in the women’s 100m freestyle. Her winning time of 53.67 was a new championship record and her third straight Pan Pac title in this event. Fellow Team Speedo stars Emily Seebohm (AUS) and Dana Vollmer (USA) tied for second; all three athletes were wearing the Speedo LZR Racer Elite, which continues to be the top choice among the U.S. and international athletes competing in Irvine.
Team Speedo’s Brent Hayden (CAN) and Eamon Sullivan (AUS) were in action in the highly anticipated men’s 100m freestyle final, with Hayden touching second in 48.19, just four one-hundredths of a second behind gold medal winner Nathan Adrian (USA), for silver. Sullivan, who recently returned to the pool after recovering from illness and injury, finished seventh. In the B final of the 100m free, Team Speedo sprinter Garrett Weber-Gale (USA) touched first in a quick 48.73.
In the women’s 100m breaststroke final, Team Speedo star Leisel Jones (AUS) won silver in 1:05.66 in another memorable duel with Team USA’s Rebecca Soni.
Team Speedo superstar Ryan Lochte continued his dominance at Pan Pacs with another record-setting performance in the men’s 400m IM. Lochte, who had set a new championship record in prelims, was under World Record pace at the 150m mark in the final, winning gold in 4:07.59 to further lower the championship record and record the fastest time in the world this year. Tyler Clary of Speedo-sponsored Team USA won silver.
The fans were on their feet for the final two events of the night - the women’s and men’s 4x200m freestyle relay. Team USA won gold in both, with Speedo stars Vollmer, Katie Hoff, Phelps, Peter Vanderkaay and Lochte all in action.
The U.S. women won gold by a body length in 7:51.2; Vollmer, Morgan Scroggy, Hoff and Allison Schmitt were all wearing the Speedo LZR Racer Elite. It was the first gold medal of the meet for Speedo’s Vollmer and Hoff. Speedo-sponsored Teams Australia won silver and Canada won bronze.
On the men’s side, Phelps’ strong lead-off leg gave Vanderkaay a full body-length lead and the U.S. men never looked back. Lochte brought the gold medal home with a dominant anchor leg, touching first in 7:03.84 - a new championship record. The men’s 4x200m gold medal is Lochte’s third of the meet. Team Japan won silver; Speedo-sponsored Australia won bronze.
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TEAM SPEEDO WRAP UP PAN PACS IN STYLE
Team Speedo continued its impressive performance over the weekend at the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, which came to a close on Sunday. Team Speedo stars Michael Phelps (USA), Ryan Lochte (USA), Natalie Coughlin (USA), Dana Vollmer (USA), Jessica Hardy (USA), Tae Hwan Park (KOR) and Emily Seebohm (AUS) each earned gold medals in the final days of competition as Team USA closed out the meet with a total of 51 medals - 27 gold, 17 silver and seven bronze.
On Friday, Team Speedo star Tae Hwan Park (KOR) won the men’s 400m free in 3:44.73, the top-ranked time in the world this year. Park, the Olympic gold medalist in this event, defended his Pan Pac title from 2006 and set a new championship record. Ryan Cochrane of Speedo-sponsored Team Canada won silver in 3:46.78 and China’s Zhang Lin won bronze in 3:46.91; Team Speedo’s Peter Vanderkaay (USA) finished fifth. All three medalists were wearing the Speedo LZR Racer Elite.
Team Speedo’s Dana Vollmer (USA) won her first individual Pan Pacific gold medal thanks to a strong finish in the women’s 100m fly, touching first in 57.56. Teammate (and fellow Team Speedo star) Christine Magnuson won silver in 57.95 while Australia’s Alicia Coutts finished third in another podium sweep for the Speedo LZR Racer Elite. Michael Phelps set a new championship record in the men’s 100m fly, winning gold in 50.86 for his second individual gold medal of the meet.
Ryan Lochte, arguably the most dominant swimmer in these championships, returned to the pool in the men’s 200m backstroke and won his fourth gold medal of the meet with a Pan Pacific record time 1:54.12, crushing the previous top-ranked time in the world in a head-turning swim. Team USA’s Tyler Clary, who solidified his place on the world stage at this meet, won silver in 1:54.90, now the second-fastest swim in the world this year.
Team Speedo’s Jessica Hardy (USA) clocked a blazing fast time of 30.03, the third fastest ever, in the 50m breaststroke to win her first individual gold medal of the meet. Australia’s Leiston Pickett finished second in 30.75 while teammate and Team Speedo star Leisel Jones (AUS) won bronze in 30.78.
Friday night came to an end with two of the most exciting events of the night - the men’s and women’s 400m free relay. The women were up first and the U.S. women continued their impressive relay showing winning gold in 3:35.11, a new Pan Pacific record. Team Speedo’s Natalie Coughlin, Jessica Hardy and Dana Vollmer each had strong swims, helping the U.S. win its second straight women’s relay title of the Championships. Speedo-sponsored Team Australia and Speedo-sponsored Team Canada, led by Speedo stars Emily Seebohm (AUS) and Erica Morningstar (CAN), won silver and bronze respectively.
But it was the men’s 400m free relay that left everyone talking, as Michael Phelps, in the lead-off leg for Team USA, clocked a blazing fast 48.13 - a time that would have actually won gold in the men’s 100m freestyle here at the meet. Phelps put Team USA ahead and the men never looked back as Ryan Lochte, Jason Lezak and Nathan Adrian combined for a gold medal finish in 3:11.74, a new meet record. The men’s 400m freestyle gold medal was the fourth for Phelps and the fifth for Lochte. Team Australia, which included Speedo star Eamon Sullivan, and Team South Africa, won silver and bronze.
On Saturday, Team Canada’s Ryan Cochrane won his second gold medal of the meet, finishing first in the men’s 800m freestyle in 7:48.71. It was a sweep of the distance events for Cochrane, who also won gold in the 1500m free. Cochrane wore the Speedo LZR Racer Elite in both his gold medal wins.
Team Speedo star Emily Seebohm (AUS) out-touched World Record-holder Ariana Kukors of the USA in the women’s 200m IM, winning gold in 2:09.93, a new meet record. In the men’s 200m IM, Speedo star Ryan Lochte (USA) ignited the crowd with a stellar swim, just under World Record pace, winning gold in 1:55.84 for a new meet record and his sixth gold medal of the meet. Tyler Clary (USA) won silver in 1:57.61 and Brazil’s Thiago Pereira finished third.
Team Speedo’s Jessica Hardy (USA) continued to show her sprint dominance with a gold in the women’s 50m free, lowering the meet record and touching first in 24.63. It was Hardy’s third gold of the meet.
In the women’s 200m breaststroke, Team Speedo star Leisel Jones won silver in 2:23.23 behind USA’s Rebecca Soni.
Team Speedo star Brent Hayden (CAN) won bronze in the men’s 50m free in 21.89, continuing a strong showing in the sprint freestyles. Following the sprints, Team Speedo distance star Kate Ziegler won silver in the women’s 1500m freestyle in 15:55.01.
The swimming competition came to a close at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center on Saturday night and Team USA showed no sign of slowing down as both the U.S. women and men won gold in the 400m medley relay. The U.S. women’s team, which included Speedo’s Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer and Jessica Hardy, lowered the meet record with a gold medal time of 3:55.23. The U.S. men, led by Phelps, completed their relay sweep with gold in 3:32.48.
In the open water competition on Sunday, Team USA’s Chip Peterson and Christine Jennings won gold in the men’s and women’s 10K.
Team USA finished the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships atop the leader board, first in team medals and points (348.50), ahead of Team Australia, which finished second overall, and the Japanese Federation, which finished third. Speedo star Ryan Lochte (USA), with six gold medals (200m free, 400m IM, 200m IM, 200m back, 400m free relay and 800m free relay), was the most decorated swimmer of the meet. The world’s eyes now look ahead to the 2010 FINA World Championships in Dubai in December.
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[ Speedo newsroom ]