2026 Pan Pacific Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

Key Points:

• The 2026 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, featured multiple championship records on Day 1, with standout performances from Gretchen Walsh in the women's 50m butterfly and Luke Hobson in the men's 200m freestyle.
• Walsh set a new championship record of 24.65 in the women's 50m butterfly final, while Australia's Ben Armbruster won the men's 50m butterfly with a championship record time of 22.75.
• Lani Pallister broke the championship record in the women's 200m freestyle with a time of 1:53.67, narrowly defeating Summer McIntosh, while Luke Hobson set a new meet record in the men's 200m freestyle at 1:43.85.
• The United States dominated several events, including a 1-2 finish in the men's 200m butterfly by Luca Urlando (new meet record 1:53.11) and Carson Foster, and a world record-breaking mixed 4×100 medley relay time of 3:36.70.
• Katie Ledecky won the women's 1500m freestyle with a time of 15:36.06, while Australia's Sam Short set a new championship record in the men's 800m freestyle at 7:37.02, beating American Bobby Finke who finished second.