2018 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, August 9 – Tuesday, August 14, 2018
- Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, Tokyo, Japan
- Meet site
- Psych Sheet
- Start Lists
- Meet Results
Swimming Australia has announced that Jack Cartwright has scratched out of the men’s 200 free A-final on night 1 of the Pan Pacific Championships, allowing Clyde Lewis to be bumped up into the championship heat and Mack Horton into the B-final.
The news was announced via Swimming Australia Twitter:
BREAKING NEWS: Team Director Jacco Verhaeren announces fastest AUS Jack Cartwright (pic) 1:46.38 rested from tonight’s 200m free final allowing Clyde Lewis 1:46.54 to join fastest AUS Alex Graham 1:46.35 in tonight’s A final @_mackhorton into B final 1:46.66 #PanPacs2018 pic.twitter.com/K9oqPGohnu
— Australian Swim Team (@DolphinsAUS) August 9, 2018
Cartwright had swum a time of 1:46.38 in the prelims, the 4th fastest overall and 2nd fastest among Aussies with Alexander Graham (1:46.35) .03 ahead. That lowered Cartwright’s personal best by almost a full second, previously having been 1:47.31 in 2017. Graham also set a best time, previously a 1:46.60 at the Commonwealth Games.
Those swims knocked medal favorites Chalmers (1:46.62) and Horton(1:46.66) out of the A-final, with Horton not even in the B-final as Lewis was the 3rd fastest Aussie in 1:46.54 (only two swimmers per country can swim in the A-final, and an additional two in the B-final).
But now, with the scratch, Lewis will get bumped up into the ‘A’, and Chalmers and Horton will contest the B-final alongside Americans Blake Pieroni and Zach Apple.
Amazing!!! This is the big difference between Australia & US. The US swimmers race & race & come the big meets are race ready. The Australians (yes I’m an Aussie) rest, limit ourselves, eg saving McEvoy from 4×200 in Olympics fore 100 individual race.
Dressel, Phelps, Ledecky swims 4-8 events per meet plus relays, the Aussies 1-2 events & skips relays. I just don’t understand.
I kind of agree with you. I think racing a lot keeps you sharp. You might feel a little perkier with rest, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll swim faster.
Agree.. that’s why come Tokyo Olympics not surprising that Aussies are not race tough because they’re easily tired both physically and mentally when the going gets tough in those pressure situations..
While there have been questionable decisions by Australian athletes before on event line ups, I think pan pacs is a bit different.
I think they put far more importance on the Commonwealth Games this year than pan pacs. The Canadians have also done this. I fully expected both teams to have athletes opt out altogether and have others not put so much focus into it. Having to be “on’ for two trials and two championships in a year is hard.
The Asian countries still have the Asian Games upcoming (though besides Japan they haven’t tended to put a lot of focus on pan pacs in the past).
By contrast, the US team treats this event as a trials for… Read more »
Anyone know why he scratched?
The desire to rest for the100m finals which are on tomorrow (same as Chalmers) and he just wanted to post a solid time to be considered for the 4c200 relay ..
To give Horton a chance.
I thought it was a max of 3 swimmers in Finals per nation.
No, 2.
Meant A/B finals. I know you can only have two in the A, but I thought you could only add a third (assuming 2 in A final) to the B.
If you have 2 in A final you can have 2 in B
I thought Chalmers would also scratch the B finals and allow Elijah Winnington to swim in the B final .. what a mess eh.. lol