2022 Jr Pan Pacs: Australia and U.S. Set for Thrilling Battles (Psych Sheet)

2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

• August 24-27, 2022
• K. Mark Takai Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center
• Honolulu, Hawaii (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time)
• Prelims 9:00 AM / Finals 5:00 PM (GMT-10)
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Psych Sheets
• Live Streaming

The 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii are set to kick off in a few days. Swimmers from 10 countries and territories, including Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore, and the United States, are competing in this edition of Junior Pan Pacs.

The start lists for each event have been posted, so this post will be dedicated to detailing some of the highlights we’re looking forward to as we head into the meet. Be sure to check out our boys and girls storylines to watch once they’ve been published as well.

• Boys Storylines
• Girls Storylines

As we examine the entries for these Championships, one of the names that sticks out the most is Flynn Southam. An Australian 17-year-old, Southam has had an exceptional year, breaking onto the national scene within Australian swimming. A sprint freestyler, Southam enters Junior Pan Pacs as the top seed in the boys 50 free (22.39), 100 free (48.54), and 200 free (1:46.77). By seed time, Southam is a heavy favorite in both the 100 and 200 free. The 50 free will likely prove to be his most challenging race, as American 17-year-old Diggory Dillingham is seeded 2nd at 22.48, just 0.09 seconds behind Southam. That being said, Southam gave an interview this spring saying his focus for the summer was on Junior Pan Pacs. Given that, it’s very possible we see Southam’s best racing of the season at these Championships.

US 15-year-old Thomas Heilman is another name to watch heading into the meet. Heilman has been on a tear over the past year, taking down U.S. National Age Group Records seemingly every time he dives in the pool. The youngster is the top seed in the boys 100 fly (52.44), and a top 3 seed in the boys 200 fly (1:57.84), 100 free (49.67), and 50 free (22.89). Heilman has been steadily dropping time in championship meets over the past year, so definitely keep your eyes on him.

The girls sprint events are looking to be a thrilling battle between rising Australian and American stars. The girls 100 free is a particularly tightly seeded event, seeing the top 5 seeds all entered under 55 seconds. Australia’s Hannah Casey leads the pack, coming in with a 54.30, just ahead of USA’s Anna Moesch, entered at 54.33. Erin Gemmell (USA), Olivia Wunsch (AUS), and Milla Jansen (AUS) are all seed as 54s as well.

The roles are reversed in the girls 50 free, where Moesch is the top seed with her personal best of 24.92, which was set about a month ago. Casey is the #2 seed, coming in right behind at 24.96.

After an extraordinary performance at U.S. Nationals a few weeks ago, American Erin Gemmell enters the girls 200 free as the top seed by a huge margin. For context, Gemmell’s 1:56.14 a few weeks ago would have been enough to win bronze at the World Championships earlier this summer. The Americans look strong in the event as a whole, having a whopping 7 swimmers entered under 2:00.

Gemmell is also entered as the top seed in the girls 400 free, coming in at 4:06.17. Not only is Gemmell the top seed, but the U.S. is looking dominant in the event, entering with the top 4 seeds. Jillian Cox comes in at #2 (4:08.27), with Cavan Gormsen right behind (4:08.38), and Michaela Mattes entering as the 4th seed (4:09.80).

Japan has a similarly dominant group in the boys 400 IM. Ei Kamikawabata comes in as the top seed with a 4:16.61. Riku Yamaguchi (4:17.33), Riki Abe (4:18.46), and Tomoyuki Matsushita (4:18.88) and the next 3 seeds. There’s only 1 other swimmer under 4:20 in the event: American Cooper Lucas, who enters at 4:19.95.

Singaporean Nick Mahabir is another swimmer whose had a noisy summer. Mahabir competes for Singapore internationally, but lives and trains in the United States. At U.S. Nationals last month, Mahabir had a phenomenal meet, taking down the Singaporean Record in the 100 breast (1:00.37). Mahabir enters these Championships as the top seed in both the boys breaststroke events.

Japan’s Mio Narita enters the meet as the top seed in both girls IMs. Narita is by far the fastest swimmer coming into the girls 400 IM, entering at 4:36.71, which makes her the only swimmer in the field to have been under 4:40. She’s also the top seed in the girls 200 IM (2:11.41) by over a second.