The 2026 Pan Pacific Championships Day 2 Prelims Live Recap is a thrilling event, showcasing the top swimmers from around the world. The session opens with the women's 400 IM, where world record holder and reigning Olympic and world champion Summer McIntosh headlines the field. The men's race features Tomoyuki Matsushita and Carson Foster, the silver and bronze medalists from the Paris Olympics, who rank 2-3 in the world this season. The 100 freestyle races will surely be the most exciting of the morning, with many Americans vying for the two 'A' final spots. The women's race won't have Kate Douglass, who split a blistering 51.01 anchoring the U.S. to a world record in the mixed medley relay last night. Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, Simone Manuel, and Rylee Erisman will be the primary contenders for the U.S. spots in the 'A' final, while Australia's Meg Harris promises to be a factor come tonight when the medals are decided. The men's 100 free could be an even bigger dog fight between the Americans, with national record holder Jack Alexy set to make his meet debut and Chris Guiliano, Patrick Sammon, Henry McFadden, and Destin Lasco all expected to make a push for a sub-48 swim this morning. One major threat come the final will be Brazil's Gui Caribe, who showed good form on Day 1 with a bronze in the 50 fly. In the 100 breast, Douglass comes in as the top seed, though China's Tang Qianting, the 2024 world champion and Paris Olympic silver medalist, should be a factor for gold in the evening session. The men's race should be interesting after Van Mathias' blistering 57.30 split last night on the mixed medley relay, while fellow American Campbell McKean will be looking to get back under 59 seconds after he did it last year and Japan's Shin Ohashi comes in riding some momentum after setting a new World Junior Record in March (58.67). However, last night in the mixed medley relay, Mathias was nearly a full second quicker than Ohashi (58.24). Closing out with the 50 back, Katharine Berkoff is the favorite in the women's race after upsetting Regan Smith last night in the 100, and those two should be able to move through with the two U.S. slots in the 'A' final. The men's 50 back will see the likes of Shaine Casas, Will Modglin, Quintin McCarty, Michael Andrew, Daniel Diehl, and Jack Aikins duking it out for the two U.S. spots in the big final. McCarty is the fastest swimmer this season among the group, having been 24.45 in June, while Casas was 24.53 earlier this season in December.
