New Zealand Swimmers Look to Carry Momentum into Pan Pacs

Competition Preview – 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

A 15-strong New Zealand team is preparing to take on some of the world’s best swimmers at the 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California from 12–15 August.

Racing kicks off at 5am NZST on Thursday 13 August.

The senior championships return for the first time since 2018, with the Kiwi team heading into the championships following a successful Commonwealth Games campaign in Glasgow, where New Zealand won 10 medals in the pool.

Lewis Clareburt returns to the Pan Pacific stage eight years after competing at the previous championships in Japan in 2018.

The two-time Olympian arrives in California after winning two gold medals and a silver in Glasgow. He said the team’s pre-event camp in Mission Viejo had provided a valuable opportunity to recover from the Commonwealth Games and prepare for another demanding programme.

"Post-Games, I’m feeling pretty good. It’s been really beautiful here in Mission Viejo and super relaxing. I’ve been able to rest and recover, which has been good."

Clareburt is expecting quality racing in Irvine, with the championships bringing together leading swimmers from across the Pacific.

"I think the racing will be great, especially having America and Japan there, there will be the top three or four in each of our events, so it’s a pretty stacked field," he said. "They have some of the strongest swimmers in the world, so it’ll be great racing. It’s going to be a full-on schedule. I’m meant to be swimming four individual events and two relays over four days, which is a huge step up from the Commonwealth Games, but I’m pretty excited for the challenge ahead and another long week of racing."

Clareburt is joined by Commonwealth Games teammates Caitlin Deans, Erika Fairweather, Chelsey Edwards, Cameron Gray, Amber George, Savannah-Eve Martin, Hazel Ouwehand, Zoe Pedersen, and Eve Thomas.

Adding fresh energy to the team are Milan Glintmeyer, Harrison Klouwens, Zac Dell, James Leigh, and Alyssa Tapper, who’ve joined for the campaign.

The team contains four swimmers competing on their first senior international team – Klouwens, Glintmeyer, Leigh and Tapper – with the latter three making the step up to senior international competition for the first time after competing at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in 2025.

Graham Hill, Swimming NZ Head Coach – Olympic, said the team had taken time to reset following Glasgow before turning its attention to the championships.

"We had a really successful meet in Glasgow. Everyone performed really well and achieved what we set out to achieve," Hill said. "We’ve had some rest following that campaign and there’s been an injection of new energy from those who’ve joined the team. We’re now ready and excited to step up and do it all over again at the Pan Pacs in Irvine."

Hill will lead the team alongside assistant coaches Andy McMillan and Michael Weston, with Aquablack #99 Monique Williams supporting the team as manager.

The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships provide a valuable opportunity for high-quality international competition, with the USA, Australia, Japan and Canada among the nations sending strong contingents to compete in California. They also offer an important stepping stone towards LA 2028, giving athletes the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the wider Los Angeles area, where the Games will be held in two years’ time.

Preparations have included a visit to SoFi Stadium, which will host the 2028 Games, as well as a visit from Anthony Mosse (Aquablack #121), who won Olympic bronze in 1988.

The championships will feature heats and finals, with a limit of two athletes per nation in each final. Consolation finals, or B finals, will also be offered. Distance events will consist of only timed finals, with the fastest timed final swum in the evening, while relay events will be swum in the finals session.

Follow the action live

Follow Swimming NZ on Instagram (@swimming_nz) and Facebook, and keep an eye on our website, to stay up to date with all the swimming action from Irvine.

You can find the schedule and results via the link below. This competition will be streamed live on the USA Swimming YouTube channel.

Schedule & Results

Livestream

Check out the daily schedule for championships below.

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 One

Heats – from 5am NZST, Thursday 13 August

• Women’s 50m butterfly (Ouwehand & Pedersen)

• Men’s 50m butterfly (Gray)

• Women’s 200m freestyle (Fairweather, Thomas & Tapper)

• Men’s 200m freestyle (Clareburt & Leigh)

• Women’s 100m backstroke (Glintmeyer, George & Martin)

• Men’s 100m backstroke (Dell)

Finals (*subject to qualification) – from 2pm NZST

• Women’s 50m butterfly (Ouwehand* & Pedersen*)

• Men’s 50m butterfly (Gray*)

• Women’s 200m freestyle (Fairweather*, Thomas* & Tapper*)

• Men’s 200m freestyle (Clareburt* & Leigh*)

• Women’s 100m backstroke (Glintmeyer*, George* & Martin*)

• Men’s 100m backstroke (Dell*)

• Women’s 1500m freestyle (Deans*)

Day Two

Heats – from 5am NZST, Friday 14 August

• Men’s 400m individual medley (Clareburt)

• Women’s 100m freestyle (Edwards & Pedersen)

• Men’s 100m freestyle (Gray & Dell)

• Women’s 50m backstroke (George, Martin & Glintmeyer)

Finals (*subject to qualification) – from 2pm NZST

• Men’s 400m individual medley (Clareburt*)

• Women’s 100m freestyle (Edwards* & Pedersen*)

• Men’s 100m freestyle (Gray* & Dell*)

• Women’s 50m backstroke (George*, Martin* & Glintmeyer*)

• Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay

• Men’s 4x200m freestyle relay

Day Three

Heats – from 5am NZST, Saturday 15 August

• Women’s 400m freestyle (Fairweather, Thomas, Deans & 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*, Deans* & 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*)

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