2014 Para Pan Pacs Day 3 Preview
- Meet Results: Meet Mobile
- Live Tweets: Follow @MalloryWeggemann for live updates poolside.
- Schedule: of events: Men’s 50 back, Women’s 100 back, Men’s 100 free, Women’s 50 breast, Men’s 100 breast, Women’s 200 medley relay (20 point), Women’s 400 medley relay (34 point)
Races to Watch on Day 3 of the 2014 Para Pan Pac Championships
The race of the night on the 3rd day of the 2014 Para Pan Pac Championships at the Rosebowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena, California should be the women’s 100 backstroke in the S8 category. Jessica Long enters as the top seed out of prelims in 1:23.55, and is the two-time defending Paralympic silver medalist in the event, but a trio of young swimmers from the Commonwealth have jumped up to challenge her. Camille Berube of Canada is the 2nd seed in 1:23.73, and 15-year old Australian’s Maddison Elliott (1:23.79) and Lakeisha Patterson (1:24.58) aren’t far back either.
Elliott and Long are the two with the greatest potential here – Long was a 1:18 in 2012, and Elliott led the world by a good margin in 2013 with a 1:19.84. The event wasn’t offered in the S8 class at Worlds in 2013, though, so Elliott and Long both will have some pent-up aggression to unleash upon the final.
In the men’s SB4, Daniel Dias will take on an event in which he’s the World Record holder: the 100 breaststroke. He has been swimming incredibly well this week, and though he took a bit of a break in 2013 from the breaststroke events while developing his fly, if his 200 freestyle was any indicator, Dias should approach his World Record. He swam a 1:41.39 in prelims and the record is 1:32.27.
The Brazilian star also will have the S5 100 free final just before that breaststroke race, and that might even be a better shot at a World Record for him. The target there is 1:08.39 from London.
Finals begin at 4:30 Pacific Time.