Rising stars set to steal the show and on track for Tokyo
Swimming Australia: June 29, 2018:The 2018 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Championship Trials will see a host of your Commonwealth Games heroes plus the next generation of rising stars return to the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Adelaide to race for a shot at team selection.
From June 30 to July 4, this is your chance to see the best swimmers from across Australia battle it out before they take on the international swimming powerhouses the USA, Canada and Japan this August.
Come along on Saturday night June 30 for FREE and get a glimpse behind the scenes as the Dolphins train plus see the distance stars of the future fight it out for selection in the men’s 800 and women’s 1500m freestyle races.
Then don’t miss your chance to see all your favourite swimmers LIVE with tickets to the heats and finals sessions from July 1 to 4 available at www.swimming.org.au. Fans can expect edge-of-your-seat action from the pool and plenty of entertainment including a live OPTUS DJ on pool deck.
A total of 16 athletes have already achieved the qualification standard necessary for team selection including Mack Horton, Emily Seebohm, Mitch Larkin and Kyle Chalmers – setting a challenge for the rising stars to step up and join them and an opportunity for the fans to see the next generation in action.
With the tough qualification times set at top eight in the world for each event, this will be no easy feat but swimmers like Commonwealth Games team members Jack Cartwright, Georgia Bohl, Taylor and Kaylee McKeown, Elijah Winnington and Australian Age group star Maddy Gough will have their eyes firmly on the Pan Pacs prize.
For the Paralympic athletes this is their time to shine, this event is the Multi Class National Championships, and their only shot at selection onto the Para Pan Pacific Championships team bound for Cairns this August.
Commonwealth Games gold medallists Tim Disken, Lakeisha Patterson, Matthew Levy, Brenden Hall and Jesse Aungles will be hoping their run of success continues but will face stiff competition from the likes of Monique Murphy and Rowan Crothers who have been training patiently for the first half of the year, and will be ready to race.
After clocking a time that would have secured her a seat on the plane to Pan Pacs at the 2018 Australian Age Championships, young TSS Aquatics star Maddy Gough (16:19.45) will be hoping she can replicate that speed in the women’s 1500m freestyle this weekend.
Joining the teenager in the 30-lap curtain raiser on Saturday night will be Olympian Jess Ashwood (15:52.17) who is the only female Australian ever under 16 minutes, TSS training partner and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kiah Melverton (16.23.64), Noosa’s open water star Kareena Lee (16:26.46) a recent 10km World Cup bronze medallist as well as Australia’s three-time Commonwealth Games golden girl, 800m freestyle Australian record holder Ariarne Titmus, who has entered the event on the limit qualifying time of 17:40.00 – not having swum the event as the 10th and final entry.
Meanwhile on the sprint end of the spectrum, the men’s 100m freestyle will feature home-town hero and Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers, but with his spot on the team safe and the likes of Cam McEvoy and James Magnussen taking a break, all eyes will be on St Peters Western young-gun Cartwright, Simon Cusack’s protégé Will Stockwell and 27-year-old James Roberts to see if they can sneak their way under the 48.31 required for an individual spot.
The depth of talent in the Australian Para Sport Program will be on full display in the women’s Multi Class 400m freestyle with four members of the triumphant Rio Paralympic team entered, making it a very top-heavy event.
Silver medallist in the S10s over 400m freestyle, Monique Murphy will face gold medallist in the S8s Lakeisha Patterson, backstroke bronze medallist Katja Dedekind (S13) and her USC Spartans club mate, Australia’s greatest female Para medallist Ellie Cole, a two-time Paralympic medallist over 400m freestyle.
While the men’s splash and dash 50m freestyle will see Rowan Crothers (S10), Yeronga Park’s Paralympic Program Swimmer of the Year in 2017, top the entrants for what will be a real heart-stopper with a time of 23.94.
A host of fellow Paralympians out to make the Para Pan Pac team in this event include USC Spartans quartet, Braeden Jason (S13), Dan Fox (S14) and Jacob Templeton (S13) and Blake Cochrane (S8). Rio golden boy and two-time Commonwealth Games champion Timothy Disken (PLC Aquatic), Rio and Gold Coast star S9 Brenden Hall (Lawnton), plus S7 Matt Levy (North Sydney).
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, David Ridgway said South Australia has become the home of the country’s most important swimming events thanks to our world-class facility at Marion, and the excitement and support that comes from the local community.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for locals and visitors to see our favourite champions, including local hero Kyle Chalmers, and the next generation of athletes fight hard for their position on the Australian swimming team” Minister Ridgway said.
As a key event on the Para program this year, Swimming Australia Paralympic High Performance Manager Adam Pine said he was excited to see the swimmer in action.
“After an interrupted 2017 and only a small selection of Para-Sport events at the Commonwealth Games, Adelaide marks the start of our cycle and I am really looking forward to the racing getting underway,” Pine said.
“The Para Pan Pacific Championships Trials starts the run into Tokyo and making this team is a vital stepping stone in the lead up to 2020.
“Then, hosting the 2018 Para Pan Pacific Championships in Cairns is a great opportunity for us and all our swimmers and coaches.
“We will select a larger than normal team in Adelaide (up to 35), but it will still require athletes to reach performance times of top five in the world to be considered for selection,” Pine said.
The Trials will run from June 30 to July 4 with tickets starting from just $5 available at www.swimming.org.au.
For more event information follow this link: https://www.swimming.org.au/Events/2018-Pan-Pacific-Championship-Trials.aspx#acc1
Please note the athletes that have already met the qualification standards for Pan Pacs selection are: Kyle Chalmers, Mack Horton, Jack McLoughlin, Mitch Larkin, Matt Wilson, Clyde Lewis, Cate Campbell, Shayna Jack, Ariarne Titmus, Emma McKeon, Emily Seebohm, Maddie Groves, Brianna Throssell, Jess Ashwood, Kiah Melverton and Laura Taylor.
Issued on behalf of Swimming Australia by
Ian Hanson| Media Manager
Ian Hanson| Media Manager Triathlon Australia Managing Director
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