Pan Pacific Junior Championships 2024

The 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships have begun and the first day of competition has already come to an end. The competition has had no shortage of exciting moments and impressive swimming performances so far, as the USA took an early lead in the medal table and broke two individual competition records.

To conclude the first day of competition, we have compiled a summary of notable quotes from some of the day’s medal winners, broken down by discipline.

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

Girls 200 freestyle

17 years old Madi Mintenko opened the final round with a strong performance in the girls’ 200m freestyle, securing the silver medal with a time of 1:58.02, which was 0.79 seconds faster than her preliminary swim.

“I felt pretty good, better than this morning,” said Mintenko. “The result wasn’t quite what I wanted, but I think it was a better race than this morning, so I’m happy with that.”

Boys 200 Freestyle

Luka Mijatovic brought home the first gold medal of the meet for the USA with his performance in the 200m freestyle. The 15-year-old won the meet in a time of 1:48.05, just shy of his preliminary time of 1:47.96, which made him the third fastest runner of all time in the 15-16 age group.

“I feel great. I’m super happy to be part of this team and do my best to win a gold medal for us,” Mijatovic said. “I tried to get out there from the beginning. I wanted them to chase me, not me chasing them, so I’m just super happy to get the win for Team USA.”

Girls 100 Back

Leah Shackley a big win in the 100m backstroke, where she not only secured a gold medal, but also broke the competition record in this discipline with her time of 59.46.

“I went out really fast and came back as best as I could,” Shackley said. “I’m a little bit down, but it was super fun having Charlotte (Crush) right next to me. This is her first final, so I was really proud just to have her there. I gave it everything I had – we both did, I know that.”

Shackley’s teammate Charlotte swarm finished second behind her in the race, earning another silver medal for the USA with a time of 1:00.19. Although it was not a personal best (she ran 59.86 at the US Olympic qualifiers in June), it was still one of her best performances in the event.

“I am so grateful to be part of this team and to represent the United States,” said Crush. “I want to thank my coach, Mike (DeBoor)for helping me get here and coaching me along the way; my family of course is always there for me and keeps me on my toes, especially with all my three siblings. I can’t wait for the rest of the week.”

Boys 100 Back

The 18-year-old also won silver in the 100-meter backstroke. Blake Amlickewho was able to improve his preliminary time by a few tenths and took second place with a time of 55.16.

“(Winning medals is) great,” Amlicke said. “I’m happy to get my hand on the wall in second place and to be able to win a medal for Team USA and add to our medal count.”

Girls 200 Butterfly

15 years old Audrey Derivaux has been turning heads in the swimming world with her performances over the past few seasons, and she continued that momentum with her gold medal in the 200m butterfly, winning her race in a time of 2:09.14, over a second and a half faster than the runner-up behind her and the only time under 2:10.

“I’m so excited,” Derivaux said of her win. “The adrenaline is so high. I didn’t really have any expectations, I just thought I had to do it for Team USA and for my country. I really had no personal expectations, but I really wanted to win gold.”

Boys 200 Butterfly

The USA secured gold in the girls’ and boys’ 200-meter butterfly thanks to Logan Robinson He achieved a personal best of 1:57.27 to take the win. The 18-year-old improved his time in the preliminary round by over two seconds and his previous best time by 0.81 seconds to stay under 1:58 for the first time.

“I just thought I had to represent the U.S. well,” Robinson said. “I told all my teammates I was going to get gold, and I told my whole family I was going to get gold, so I wanted to keep my word.”

Boys 800 m freestyle

18 years old Luke Ellis was the other US record breaker in individual competitions, Bobby Finke‘s old competition record from 2016. Ellis set a time of 7:52.40, almost two seconds faster and beating the previous record by almost three.

“I feel great,” Ellis said. “This is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done, holding up this flag while the national anthem was playing. I can’t wait for more to happen.”

In addition to being one of the top players for the USA at the Junior Pan Pacs, Ellis has served as team captain for the American team throughout the competition.

“This means everything to me and is not something I took lightly. It’s definitely something I want to represent well, especially as captain of the USA. I didn’t want to disappoint anyone; I wanted to show everyone that Team USA is the country. We are the people to beat.”

Girls 1500 freestyle

15 years old Paige Downey secured the final individual gold medal of the evening by swimming well ahead of the rest of the field in the 1500m freestyle, breaking more than seven seconds and winning the event with a time of 16:24.58, more than 13 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

“I’m definitely tired, but I’m super happy to have won a gold medal for Team USA,” Downey said. “It was so much fun and I can’t wait to win more.”

4×100 m medley relay

The USA won the first season of the competition, while Shackley’s team, Campbell McKean, Robert Cox And Rylee Erisman won the gold medal in the 4×100m mixed medley relay with a time of 3:45.21, which was another Junior Pan Pacs meet record.

Cox, Shackley and Erisman shared their thoughts on being part of the relay team.

“Relays are the best,” Shackley said. “The energy is just unbelievable. You’re not alone out there. You have three other people supporting you, and they’re all on Team USA. Let’s face it: Team USA, there’s no better team to be on. We’re the best. It was a great first night and we’re not done yet.”

“When I stepped onto the starting blocks, it was the most hype I’ve ever experienced in an arena,” Cox said.

“It was incredible,” Erisman said, reflecting on the conclusion of the relay. “It was my first relay for Team USA and I’m honored to finish it and bring home gold for the team.”