Swimming Australia has tonight named a 33-strong team to contest next month’s Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo from August 9-14.
The team consists of 17 women and 16 men – with Queensland dominating the team with 27 – 11 of those from the Gold Coast and six from the Sunshine Coast – with two each from NSW and one each from WA and SA.
Olympic gold medallists Cate Campbell (Chandler, QLD) and Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar, QLD) both 25, have been named in their third Pan Pac teams, having made their debuts in Irvine in 2010 and making their second teams on the Gold Coast in 2014.
Also back from the 2010 team is dual-Commonwealth Games 50m breaststroke gold medallist Leiston Pickett (Southport Olympic, QLD) who is the oldest of the women’s team at 26.
There are eight survivors from the 2014 Gold Coast team with Jess Ashwood (Chandler, QLD), Maddie Groves (Griffith, QLD), Mack Horton (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC), Mitch Larkin (St Peters Western, QLD), Emma McKeon (Griffith, University, QLD) and Jake Packard (USC Spartans, QLD) joining Campbell and Seebohm.
The youngest female is 16-year-old Kaylee McKeown, who made her Australian team debut at last year’s World Championships in Budapest and will join Seebohm in the backstroke events after her winning double at the Trials and is one of 11 teenagers on the team
She joins 17-year-old Commonwealth Games star Ariarne Titmus, (St Peters Western), who wrapped up the 400-800m freestyle double tonight when the five-day Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Championship Trials concluded at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre tonight.
Titmus is one of four from Dean Boxall’s St Peters Western squad, with fellow Commonwealth Games star, five-time gold medallist Larkin on his second Pan Pac team and Clyde Lewis and Jack Cartwright making their Pan Pacs debut.
The team also includes Olympic gold medallists from Rio, Horton (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC) and Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA).
The women’s team also sees one of two rookies on the team, 19-year-old former Coffs Harbour girl, Maddy Gough (TSS Aquatics, QLD) who swam her way onto the team with a stunning personal best time on night one in the 1500m freestyle.
She is joined by fellow TSS Aquatic team mates, Kiah Melverton, Laura Taylor and David Morgan.
Melverton, although pre-selected from the Commonwealth Games, won the 1500m freestyle in a sub 16 minutes qualifying time and also finished second to Titmus over 400 and 800 – both under the Top eight in the world qualifying time.
The other rookie on the team is Noosa Heads 10km marathon swimmer Nic Sloman.
The men’s team sees Rio Olympian Grant Irvine (Griffith University, QLD), now the eldest statesman of the team shading fellow 27-year-old two-time Olympic freestyle relay medallist James Roberts (Somerset, QLD) by just a month.
Irvine joins Griffith teammates, Olympic butterfly medallists, Groves and McKeon,
Bond University’s Elijah Winnington, the winner of the 200 and 400 freestyle at the Trials is the youngest male on the team 18 and is joined by Bond teammate Alexander Graham.
On the last stroke, of the last lap, of the last race Zac Stubblety-Cook has snuck his way onto the 2018 Pan Pacs team in the men’s 200m breaststroke final
Stubblety-Cook, who was behind at the final turn, picked up the pace in the final 50 metres to overtake an unsuspecting Matthew Wilson (2:09.10) and take the win at the wall with a 2:08.65, sneaking just under the 2:08.80 required for selection.
Sunshine Coast 24-year-old Kareena Lee (Noosa) has been named to swim both the 1500m freestyle and the 10km marathon.
She will be joined on the team by veteran coach John “JR” Rodgers who makes a long-awaited returned to the team – celebrating a 50 year coaching career, now at Noosa.
Lee is one of three open water swimmers on the team, joined by Sloman and Rio Olympian Chelsea Gubecka (Kawana Waters)
Australian Dolphins Swim Team, Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Tokyo (August 9-14)
MEN: Jack Cartwright, (St Peters Western, QLD), Kyle Chalmers (Marion, SA), Alexander Graham (Bond, QLD), Mack Horton (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC), Grant Irvine (St Peters Western, QLD), Mitchel Larkin (St Peters Western, QLD, Clyde Lewis (St Peters Western, QLD), Jack McLoughlin (Chandler, QLD), David Morgan (TSS Aquatics, QLD), Jake Packard (USC Spartans, QLD), James Roberts (Somerset, QLD), Nicholas Sloman (Noosa, QLD), Zac Stubblety-Cook (West Brisbane, QLD) Elijah Winnington (Bond, QLD), Bradley Woodward (Mingara Aquatic).
WOMEN: Jessica Ashwood (Chandler, QLD), Cate Campbell (Chandler, QLD), Madeleine Gough (TSS Aquatics, QLD), Madeline Groves (Griffith University, QLD), Chelsea Gubecka (Kawana Waters, QLD), Jessica Hansen (Nunawading, VIC), Shayna Jack (Chandler, QLD), Kareena Lee (Noosa, QLD), Emma McKeon (Griffith University, QLD), Kaylee McKeown (USC Spartans, QLD), Kiah Melverton (TSS Aquatic), QLD, Leiston Pickett (Southport Olympic) QLD, Emily Seebohm (Brisbane Grammar, QLD), Mikkayla Sheridan (USC Spartans, QLD), Laura Taylor (TSS Aquatic, QLD), Brianna Throssell (UWA West Coast, WA), Ariarne Titmus (St Peters Western, QLD.)
Coaches:
Jacco Verhaeren (Team Director)
Rohan Taylor (Coach Mentor)
Team Coaches:
Pool: Peter Bishop (SASI, SA), Michael Bohl (Griffith University, QLD), Dean Boxall (St Peters Western, QLD), Simon Cusack (Brisbane Aquatic Centre-High Performance, QLD), Craig Jackson (Melbourne Vicentre, VIC), Adam Kable (SAL NSW High Performance Hub), Chris Mooney (University of Sunshine Coast, QLD), Vince Raleigh Brisbane (Aquatic Centre-High Performance, QLD).
Open Water: Michael Sage (Kawana Waters, QLD), John Rodgers (Noosa, QLD).