Clareburt Leads New Zealand on Day Two in Irvine
Day Two Wrap – 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
It was a solid second day of racing for our New Zealand swimmers at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, with six swimmers advancing to evening finals, four personal best times recorded, and another New Zealand age record broken.
Lewis Clareburt (United / Nunawading – coached by Jol Finck) led the way for New Zealand on the second day of racing in California, placing sixth in the championship final of the 400m individual medley.
Clareburt got off to a strong start in the final, sitting among the top three through the first half of the race before the field closed the gap over the breaststroke leg. The New Zealand record holder fought hard over the final 100m of freestyle, finishing in 4:09.86 to take sixth place.
The women’s 100m freestyle provided plenty of excitement, particularly for Chelsey Edwards (North Shore – coached by Graham Hill), who raced the event three times over the course of the day and posted two personal bests.
Edwards set a personal best of 54.66 in the heats to finish equal eighth, earning her a place in a swim-off for a spot in the championship final. Just 0.09 seconds separated Edwards and China’s Fan Yaqi in the swim-off. While Edwards narrowly missed out on the win, she produced another personal best of 54.47.
Edwards went on to place fourth in the B final in 54.82.
On the men's side, Cameron Gray (United – coached by Andy McMillan) finished eighth in the B final in 50.19, after posting 49.08 in the heats.
The women’s 50m backstroke saw the Coast Swim Club trio, all coached by Michael Weston, in action again.
Amber George earned a spot in the championship final courtesy of her 28.11 performance in the heats. Swimming from lane one in the final, George clocked 28.15 to take seventh place.
Savannah-Eve Martin broke the 28-second barrier for the first time in her career, finishing third in the B final in 27.97 to take 0.05 off her lifetime best. Milan Glintmeyer also performed well in the B final, placing fifth in 28.25 and breaking the 18 years New Zealand age record Martin set last year.
The day rounded out with the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, where New Zealand clocked 7:18.25 to finish seventh overall. With Canada fielding two teams, New Zealand was the sixth-placed eligible nation.
The New Zealand contingent was led off by Lewis Clareburt, who clocked 1:46.95 in the opening leg. James Leigh (Coast / Marist – coached by James Boyce) was up next, delivering a strong 1:48.92 split to handover to Cameron Gray. Gray put up a split of 1:51.58 before Zac Dell (United / Brisbane Grammar – coached by Bobby Jovanovich) anchored the team in 1:50.80.
Earlier in the day, Zac Dell clocked a new best time of 49.71 in the men's 100m freestyle heats to place 30th. Zoe Pedersen (Coast – coached by Michael Weston) also placed 30th in the heats of the women's event, finishing in 55.57.
Racing continues tomorrow, with day three set to feature Pan Pacific Championships bronze medallist Erika Fairweather competing in the 400m freestyle, alongside a further six New Zealand swimmers lining up for heats.
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You can find the schedule and results via the link below. This competition will be streamed live on the USA Swimming YouTube channel.
Daily schedule
*Asterisk denotes potential finalist, subject to qualification or confirmation of the distance-event start list. Relay line-ups are still to be confirmed.
Day Three
Heats – from 5am NZST, Saturday 15 August
Women’s 400m freestyle (Fairweather, Thomas, & Tapper)
Men’s 400m freestyle (Clareburt & Leigh)
Women’s 100m butterfly (Ouwehand)
Women’s 200m backstroke (Glintmeyer)
Finals (*subject to qualification) – from 2pm NZST
Women’s 400m freestyle (Fairweather*, Thomas*, & Tapper*)
Men’s 400m freestyle (Clareburt* & Leigh*)
Women’s 100m butterfly (Ouwehand*)
Women’s 200m backstroke (Glintmeyer*)
Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay
Men’s 4x100m freestyle relay
Day Four
Heats – from 5am NZST, Sunday 16 August
Men’s 200m individual medley (Clareburt)
Women’s 50m freestyle (Edwards & Pedersen)
Men’s 50m freestyle (Klouwens, Gray & Dell)
Women’s 800m freestyle (Fairweather, Thomas, Deans & Tapper)
Finals (*subject to qualification) – from 2pm NZST
Men’s 200m individual medley (Clareburt*)
Women’s 50m freestyle (Edwards* & Pedersen*)
Men’s 50m freestyle (Klouwens*, Gray* & Dell*)
Women’s 800m freestyle (Fairweather*, Thomas*, Deans* & Tapper*)
Results by Swimmer
Lewis Clareburt
Men's 200m freestyle – 3rd place in B final (B final: 1:46.47; heat: 1:47.41)
Men's 400m individual medley – 6th place in A final (A final: 4:09.86; heat: 4:13.33)
Men's 4x200m freestyle – 6th place (final: 7:18.25)
Caitlin Deans
Women's 1500m freestyle – 5th place (timed final: 16:07.44 – PB)
Zac Dell
Men's 100m backstroke – 8th place in B final (B final: 56.65; heat: 54.78)
Men's 100m freestyle – 30th place (heat: 49.71 – PB)
Men's 4x200m freestyle – 6th place (final: 7:18.25)
Chelsey Edwards
Women's 100m freestyle – 4th place in B final (B final: 54.82; swim-off: 54.47 –PB; heat: 54.66 – PB)
Erika Fairweather
Women's 200m freestyle – bronze medal (A final: 1:55.05 – NZ record; heat: 1:55.53)
Amber George
Women's 100m backstroke – 7th place in B final (B final: 1:01.32; heat: 1:01.42)
Women's 50m backstroke – 7th place in A final (A final: 28.15; heat: 28.11)
Milan Glintmeyer
Women's 100m backstroke – 3rd place in B final (B final: 1:00.74; heat: 1:00.34 – 18 years NZR)
Women's 50m backstroke – 5th place in B final (B final: 28.25 – 18 years NZR; heat: 28.49)
Cameron Gray
Men's 50m butterfly – 7th place in B final (B final: 24.10; heat: 24.04)
Men's 100m freestyle – 8th place in B final (B final: 50.19; heat: 49.08)
Men's 4x200m freestyle – 6th place (final: 7:18.25)
James Leigh
Men's 200m freestyle – 33rd place (heat: 1:49.95)
Men's 4x200m freestyle – 6th place (final: 7:18.25)
Savannah-Eve Martin
Women's 100m backstroke – 23rd place (heat: 1:02.41)
Women's 50m backstroke – 3rd place in B final (B final: 27.97 – PB; heat: 28.32)
Hazel Ouwehand
Women's 50m butterfly – 1st place in B final (B final: 26.13; heat: 26.72)
Zoe Pedersen
Women's 50m butterfly – 7th place in A final (A final: 26.45; heat: 26.62)
Women's 100m freestyle – 30th place (heat: 55.57)
Alyssa Tapper
Women's 200m freestyle – 37th place (heat: 2:02.34)
Eve Thomas
Women's 200m freestyle – 27th place (heat: 1:59.78)
New Zealand Team
Name | Organisation | Role |
Graham Hill | Swimming NZ & North Shore | Head Coach |
Andy McMillan | United | Assistant Coach |
Michael Weston | Coast | Assistant Coach |
Monique Williams | North Shore | Team Manager |
Name | Club | Coach |
Lewis Clareburt | United | Jol Finck (Nunawading) |
Caitlin Deans | Neptune & Swim Dunedin | Lars Humer |
Zac Dell | United | Bobby Jovanovich (Brisbane Grammar) |
Chelsey Edwards | North Shore | Graham Hill |
Erika Fairweather | North Shore | Graham Hill |
Amber George | Coast | Michael Weston |
Milan Glintmeyer | Coast | Michael Weston |
Cameron Gray | United | Andy McMillan |
Harrison Klouwens | United | Mitch Nairn |
James Leigh | Coast | James Boyce (Marist) |
Savannah-Eve Martin | Coast | Michael Weston |
Hazel Ouwehand | Phoenix Aquatics | David Lyles |
Zoe Pedersen | Coast | Michael Weston |
Alyssa Tapper | St Peter's | Tommy Fraser-Holmes (Griffith University) |
Eve Thomas | Coast | Michael Weston |
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