2023 Pan American Games: Links + Storylines to Follow

2023 PAN AMERICAN GAMES

• October 21-25, 2023
• Santiago, Chile
• Meet Central
• Entries
• Live Results
• Live Stream
  • Fubo TV (subscription required)
  • PanAm Sports Channel (USA, Canada, Jamaica)

The 2023 Pan American Games are set to kick off tomorrow in Santiago, Chile. The five-day meet will feature many of the top swimmers from the U.S., Canada, and Central and South America. You’ll be able to follow results with the links above. As of the time this article was posted, none of the entries were uploaded onto the meet site, however, that presumably will change as the start of the meet gets closer.

As far as watching the meet goes, it appears there are two main options. For those in the U.S. and Canada, Fubo TV will be broadcasting the meet. The downside to that is that you’ll need a Fubo subscription, although Fubo does offer a 7-day free trial, so that’s an option. Additionally, for those in the U.S., Canada, and Jamaica, PanAm Sports Channel will be airing the meet as well. As far as I can tell, you just need to sign up for a free account to be able to access the feed.

The remainder of this post is dedicated to highlighting some of the interesting storylines worth following as the meet progresses.

Kristel Kobrich Continues To Set Records

One of the great stories in longevity the sport of swimming has ever seen, 38-year-old Kristel Kobrich is finally getting the opportunity to race at a Pan Ams in her home country of Chile. Long one of the world’s top women’s distance freestylers, Kobrich will be racing in a record 6th Pan Am Games this week. This accomplishment is just the latest for the swimming juggernaut, as she competed in a record 11th World Championships over the summer and has competed in 5 Olympics as well, joining a very small group to do so.

The Chilean Record holder in the women’s 400 free (4:11.32), 800 free (8:26.75), and 1500 free (15:54.30), Kobrich will be racing in the 800 free and 1500 free in Santiago this week. Whether or not she ends up winning a medal in Santiago this week, Kobrich has said that it’s a dream come true to be able to race at a Pan Ams in Chile. As a sign of her leadership in Chilean sports, Kobrich was named a flag bearer for Chile at the opening ceremonies.

Lots and Lots of College Swimmers Who Could Qualify for NCAAs

There are a ton of swimmers racing in Santiago who are currently in the NCAA. The U.S. roster is predominantly composed of college swimmers, many of whom are juniors and seniors. The fact that they’re college swimmers is relevant this time around because the NCAA is allowing swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championships with LCM times this season.

The NCAA ‘A’ cut conversions are really fast, so it will be interesting to see if anyone picks them up in Santiago. For those who may not be as familiar, NCAA ‘A’ cuts refer to the time standards which automatically qualify a swimmer for the NCAA Championships. There are also ‘B’ cuts, however, those don’t automatically qualify swimmers to the meet. The NCAA has a set number of swimmers who will be invited to the meet each year. The ‘A’ cut achievers are automatically in, and from there, the NCAA takes the next fastest swimmer in each event until all the available spaces are full. There are a few more complexities to the process, but that’s the general idea.

Here is a link to our post on the LCM conversions of the NCAA standards. While the ‘A’ cuts are quite fast, we may still see a few swimmers hit them in Santiago. That being said, we’ll certainly see many swimmers put up times which will be fast enough to earn an invite to NCAAs at the end of the season.

Zane Grothe and his Resurgence

During the mid-to-late 2010s, Zane Grothe was among the very best in American men’s middle distance and distance swimming. He won a gold medal at the 2016 SC World Champs on the U.S. men’s 4×200 free relay, then picked up bronze in the 4×200 at the 2017 LC Worlds. He reached his peak as it were in 2018, when he had an exceptional showing at the 2018 Pan Pacs, winning gold in the men’s 800 free, silver in the 1500 free, and bronze in the 400 free.

Beyond the stellar performances at the 2018 Pan Pacs, Grothe’s times began to creep up and continued to do so for years. Now 31 years old, it would have seemed that Grothe’s career had petered out, until he had a complete resurgence this year. Grothe has now shifted away from the longer events and into the shorter, most notably the 200 free.

Grothe began showing the turnaround in May of this year, where he clocked new career bests in the LCM 50 free (22.89) and 100 free (49.68) at the Atlanta Classic. About a month out from the U.S. Trials, it became apparent that he may have something big in store. He delivered at Trials, clocking a 1:46.97 in the 200 free, which was fast enough to earn a spot on the Pan Ams roster. While that time was a little off Grothe’s career best of 1:46.39, it was his first time going under 1:47 in the event since 2016.

Maggie MacNeil Leading Team Canada

Canadian star sprinter Maggie MacNeil is set to compete for her country this week in Santiago. The World and Olympic champion is leading the 36-strong Canadian roster into the meet. It will be interesting to get a look at MacNeil, whose NCAA career has now come to an end and is officially in her first season as a ‘pro’ swimmer.

With this meet being limited to the US’ non-World Champs team, and Central and South America, MacNeil is easily the class of the field in the women’s 100 fly. She’ll also be a huge boost to Canada’s relays, especially the medley, where she’ll give them a clear advantage on fly.

Beyond MacNeil, this is a very solid roster Canada has sent to Santiago. Some of the other high profile names on the roster include Finlay Knox, Javier Acevedo, Katerine Savard, Kelsey Wog, and Mary-Sophie Harvey. The team is notably missing some stars in Josh Liendo and Kylie Masse, for example, however, this is overall a very good Canadian roster.