Zhao on Breaking a Meet Record in the Final Relay, “There is No Better Feeling” (Day 4 Quotes)

2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

• August 21-24, 2024
• Canberra, Australia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• All Days Prelim Heat Sheet
• Prelims Recaps: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4
• Finals Recaps: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4

Team USA closed out the final day of the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships with yet another series of top performances, winning five of the 10 events in the night’s lineup and putting at least one athlete on the podium in every event.

They also broke two more meet records, as both the girls and boys 4×100 medley relay teams shattered the previous record times.

Team USA’s swimmers brought a tremendous energy that they carried with them throughout the competition, and it certainly paid off in the pool. The U.S. ended the meet with an impressive tally of 44 total medals, 21 gold medals, 11 Junior Pan Pacs meet records and one National Age Group record.

Since competition has officially wrapped up, we’ve pulled together a list of notable quotes from some of the day’s medalists, broken down by event.

*All quotes are courtesy of USA Swimming’s official release on their website.*

Girls 200 IM

Teagan O’Dell and Lilla Bognar started the night off strong by going 1-2 in the 200 IM, bringing home a pair of medals and moving up the all-time American 17-18 age group rankings, with O’Dell becoming #10 and Bognar becoming #11. It also marked O’Dell’s first best time in the event in three years.

“To go 1-2 with my teammate Lilla was a dream come true,” O’Dell said. “That race has been very hard for me over the past three years, and I was finally able to go a best time. I’m grateful that I was able to swim it next to her tonight.”

“[The 1-2 U.S. finish] was our goal going into the meet and this race,” Bognar said. “We were looking at each other in the ready room and nodding. Teagan is one of my best friends, so it is exciting to be there for my team and be here with her.”

Boys 200 IM

18-year-old Gregg Enoch enjoyed several tremendous performances over the course of the meet, particularly in the 200 IM, where he made a massive drop to walk away with a gold medal.

“It’s surreal – going in with a 2:03 personal best and dropping three seconds to win gold for Team USA is exciting,” Enoch said. “To do it on the last day and end on a high note, I just can’t explain it.”

Boys 50 free

Quin Seider and Josh Howat brought home a silver and a bronze medal, respectively, for the U.S. in the 50 free, separated by just .15 on the podium.

“Getting to race with Josh again – he’s been my training partner this whole trip in the sprint group – getting to go 2-3 with him was the coolest thing ever,” Seider said. “He was in the lane right next to me, so it was perfect.”

“I’m just happy that Quin and I were able to do that,” Howat said. “We knew that this was going to be a hard race going into it. It was a great way to end the meet and end the season. To represent the U.S. here was a dream come true.”

Boys 200 Breast

Turning in another 2-3 finish for Team USA was Josh Bey and Jordan Willis in the 200 breast. Bey had a particularly good race, dropping over four seconds from his prelims time to move from 5th to 2nd.

“I feel pretty good, especially considering that last year (at the World Aquatics Junior Championships), I was second at the 150 and sixth at the 200, it is nice to be second at the 150 and second at the 200 this time,” Bey said. “I can’t complain about it at all.”

“Josh and I were on the World Juniors team last year and we swam in the final together there too,” Willis said. “I’m glad that this year, we were able to be on the podium. I had to tweak a few things between prelims and finals, and I’m glad that I was able to do that. The time doesn’t matter much to me because I changed what I needed to change and that’s all that matters.”

Boys 1500 free

One of the most thrilling races of the night, the 1500 free ended in an all out battle between Japan’s Kazushi Imafuku and the United States’ Luke Ellis, with Ellis ultimately taking 2nd after getting narrowly out-touched by Imafuku. Ellis was notably still under the previous meet record time by several seconds, posting a best time of 15:00.24.

“I’m feeling good,” Ellis said. “I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get that [gold] at the end, but I tell myself that I would rather have a fun race and lose than win a race and not have fun at all. The race that we had; he [Imafuku] has all my respect. He made it interesting and fun, and I’m glad we could put on a show for everyone.”

Girls 800 Free

Securing a final 1-2 podium finish for Team USA, Kayla Han and Kennedi Dobson brought home gold and silver, respectively, in the 800 free. While neither of them swam their best times, they definitely kept up the team spirit and energy after the race.

“I’m so proud of Kennedi,” Han said. “Throughout this whole meet, we’ve become really close and I’m excited to see what she becomes. Getting a 1-2 finish is always amazing for Team USA. I still have a lot of work to do, and I’m excited for the journey ahead, but being here, I’m proud of myself. The last couple of days have been kind of tough, so bringing home a gold on the last day means a lot.”

“[Winning silver] means everything,” Dobson said. “I’m really honored to be a part of this team, and racing Kayla was awesome. I don’t get to race her all that much, so it was cool to be there with her. I’m so happy for her getting gold – it was a great race.”

Girls 4×100 Medley Relay

Team USA’s girls closed out their part of the competition in spectacular style, demolishing the previous meet record by over 3.5 seconds with their time of 3:58.88. The team of Leah Shackley, Elle Scott, O’Dell and Rylee Erisman also just narrowly missed out on the World Junior Record of 3:58.38.

“I was so happy,” O’Dell said. “I love relays and I was glad that I was able to end my meet with one. I’m so proud of what Team USA has done in this meet. It couldn’t have ended on a better note.”

“I was so excited and ready to anchor the relay again,” Erisman said (she anchored the 4×100 mixed medley relay as well). “It was amazing. The finals energy is just unbeatable, and I love it so much.”

“I was excited to be on the A relay,” Scott said. “I knew that Leah was going to get us out in a lead, and I wanted to hold that, if not extend it. It was my last race of the meet and I feel like I left everything in the pool. Honestly, my teammates really egged us on and helped us get the win.”

Boys 4×100 Medley Relay

Not to be outdone by the girls, Team USA’s boys 4×100 medley relay also took down the meet record in their race. The team of Gavin Keogh, Joe Polyak, Rowan Cox and Jason Zhao lowered the time by over a second to secure one final gold for the U.S. in the last race of the meet.

“It’s always a great feeling to win a relay with three other guys,” Zhao said. “To top the meet off that way and sing the National Anthem as loud as possible – there is no better feeling.”

A Final Comment

After racing concluded, 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships Technical Leader and USA Swimming Director of Team Services Brendan Hansen commented on the team atmosphere and experience throughout the competition in Australia.

“It’s been a fantastic experience leading this team in Australia,” Hansen said. “This group truly understands what it means to be a member of the USA Swimming team. They took care of themselves and uplifted each other, making for an unstoppable team. I look forward to seeing what this group continues to accomplish in the future.”