Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

Summary

The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is a long course swimming event first held in 1985.[1] It was founded as an alternative to the European Championships, for those countries that could not swim in those championships, in a manner similar to the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships which provide a similar 'continental' championships for non-European nations.

The meet was founded by its four Charter nations's swimming federations: Swimming Australia (Australia), Swimming Canada (Canada), Japan Swimming Federation (Japan), and USA Swimming (United States). As part of the Charter, hosting of the meet is to rotate among these four nations, with the meet being held in Japan every other championship. Initially, the meet was open to all countries that border the Pacific Ocean, giving the meet its name. This since has been expanded/opened to include other non-European countries wishing to participate, such as Brazil and South Africa.

The meet is considered to be one of the toughest international swimming competitions outside the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships, due in part to the presence of swimming power-house nationals like the United States and Australia, the first and second most medals winners, respectively.

History edit

The meet was initially staged biennially (every odd year), to allow for an international championship-level meet in the non-Olympic and non-World Championships years.[1] However, beginning with the 2002 championships, due to the changing of the World Championships from every four years (even year between Olympics) to every two years (every odd year), the meet is a quadrennial event, held in the even year between Summer Olympics.[1]

Unlike the World Championships and Olympic Games, nations can enter as many people as they like in the preliminaries of each event (in most international meets, only two swimmers from each nation are permitted). However, only two swimmers per nation can qualify for the Championships' semi-finals and finals. Prior to FINA's creation of semi-finals in the late 1990s, a total of 3 swimmers per country could qualify for the final and consolation heats of an event, with no more than 2 swimmers per country in a final or consolation.

List of championships edit

Edition Year Host City Host Country Dates Medal table winners
1 1985 Tokyo   Japan 15–18 August   United States
2 1987 Brisbane   Australia 13–16 August   United States
3 1989 Tokyo   Japan 17–20 August   United States
4 1991 Edmonton   Canada 22–25 August[2]   United States
5 1993 Kobe   Japan 12–15 August   United States
6 1995 Atlanta   United States 10–13 August   United States
7 1997 Fukuoka   Japan 10–13 August[3]   United States
8 1999 Sydney   Australia 22–29 August[4]   United States
9 2002 Yokohama   Japan 24–29 August[5]   United States
10 2006 Victoria   Canada 17–20 August[6]   United States
11 2010 Irvine   United States 18–22 August[7]   United States
12 2014 Gold Coast   Australia 21–25 August[1]   United States
13 2018 Tokyo   Japan 9–13 August   United States
14 2026 TBD   United States TBA

Note: The 1995 and 1999 editions served as the swimming test events for the Olympic venues, for the next year's Games.

Medal table (1985–2018) edit

All-time Pan Pacific Championships medal table (Updated after 2018 Championships)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  United States277192140609
2  Australia98136107341
3  Japan314973153
4  Canada184574137
5  China5101227
6  South Africa55616
7  New Zealand461626
8  South Korea4217
9  Brazil34916
10  Costa Rica3249
11  Puerto Rico1012
12  Suriname1001
13  Venezuela0101
14  Chile0011
Totals (14 entries)4504524441346

Records edit

Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships edit

The Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, aka Junior Pan PAC’s, is a long course swimming event that features high level 18 under swimmers around the Pacific. The event is held every other even year, and takes place in the non-world championship/junior championship years. The event was last held in 2018, with others postponed or canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic; future events have been postponed until after 2022.[8]

List of championships edit

Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships:[9][10]

Edition Year Host Venue Host Country Dates Medal table winners
1 2005 Maui Kihei Aquatic Center   United States 6–9 January[11]   United States
2 2007 Maui Kihei Aquatic Center   United States 11–14 January[12]   United States
3 2009 Guam   Guam 8–11 January[13]   United States
4 2010 Maui Kihei Aquatic Center   United States 26–30 August[14]   United States
5 2012 Honolulu Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center   United States 23–27 August[15]   United States
6 2014 Maui Kihei Aquatic Center, Ulua Beach   United States 27–31 August[16]   United States
7 2016 Maui Lahaina Aquatic Center   United States 24–27 August[17]   United States
8 2018 Suva Damodar Aquatic Centre   Fiji 23–26 August[18]   United States
9 2022 Honolulu Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center   United States 24–27 August[19]   United States
10 2024 Canberra AIS Aquatic Centre   Australia 21–24 August[20]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Queensland to host 2014 Pan Pacific Championships Archived May 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, published by Swimming Australia on 2012-05-11; retrieved 2012-05-11.
  2. ^ For the Record: 1991 Pan Pacific Championships; result listing published by Swimming World Magazine, October 1991 edition, p.52-54.
  3. ^ 1997 Pan Pacific Championships page from the USA Swimming website (usaswimming.org); retrieved 2012-05-11.
  4. ^ 1999 Pan Pacific Championships page from the USA Swimming website (usaswimming.org); retrieved 2012-05-11.
  5. ^ 2002 Pan Pacific Championships Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine page from the USA Swimming website (usaswimming.org); retrieved 2012-05-11.
  6. ^ 2006 Pan Pacs results page Archived September 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from Omega Timing. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  7. ^ 2010 Pan Pacs results page Archived September 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine from Omega Timing. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  8. ^ Andy Ross (May 28, 2020). "2022 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Deferred to 2026, Canada to Remain Host". Swimming World News. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Junior Pan Pacific Championships Results".
  10. ^ "Swimrankings - Swimming Rankings and Results - Worldwide, International Swim Sport".
  11. ^ "2005 Jr Pan Pacs Top 8, full meet – Meet Results". Swimming World. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  12. ^ "2007 Jr Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – Meet Results". Swimming World. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  13. ^ "2009 Junior Pan Pacific Championships – Meet Results". Swimming World. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  14. ^ "2010 Junior Pan Pacific Championships – Meet Results". Swimming World. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  15. ^ "Junior Pan Pacific Championship, August 23-27, 2012". Swimming World. November 27, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  16. ^ Marsteller, Jason (August 13, 2014). "USA Swimming Releases Loaded Junior Pan Pacific Championships Roster". Swimming World. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  17. ^ "2016 Jr Pan Pacific Swimming Championships: Results". swmeets.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  18. ^ "2018 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships" (PDF). SwimSwam. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  19. ^ "Charter Nations Announce Addition of Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships to 2022 International Events Calendar". USA Swimming. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Swimming Australia - Junior Pan Pacific Championships heading to Canberra". Swimming Australia. Retrieved September 30, 2023. AIS