Pan Pacs Day 1: Records fall as Dolphins shine in Irvine

In Los Angeles, everyone is a star.

And on Day 1 finals of the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California; Ben Ambruster (pictured), Brittany Castelluzzo, Lani Pallister and Sam Short glittered the brightest of all Dolphins.

Using the momentum of Glasgow, the Australian swimming team delivered four gold, three silver and three bronze in a stunning fillip to the Dolphins green and gold runway to LA 2028.

Midway through the Olympic cycle, the Dolphins’ trip to San Diego for staging camp followed by this week’s Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine is a dry run for the big dance.

Butterflyer Armbruster claimed Australia’s first gold medal of the meet in the men’s 50m fly, swimming 22.75 to take down his own meet record of 22.92 from the heats.

Armbruster’s time was just two hundredths off the Australian record of 22.73, which he holds in a three-way tie with Kyle Chalmers and Matt Targett.

Next to sing Advance Australia Fair was Pallister who held off a late challenge from three-time Olympic champion Summer McIntosh to win the women’s 200m freestyle final.

Pallister won the race in one minute and 53.67 seconds, setting a Championship record.

“I said to Dean (Boxall, coach) at the start of the week that racing this week at Pan Pacs is kind of the first taste of the Olympics in two years time,” Pallister said.

“I often don’t swim the 200 individually, so going 1:53 is wicked here.”

The 24-year-old claimed the Pan Pacs gold, only to then rip off her podium tracksuit to warm up for the 1500m free where she pushed GOAT Katie Ledecky to the wall.

The American stopped the clock at 15:36.09 while Pallister set a new lifetime best of 15:38.62 moving up to be the 3rd fastest performer in history. Pallister’s swim was a new Australian and Oceanian record.

Open water gold medallist Moesha Johnson took third 15:53.49, a new lifetime best.

And then Castelluzzo claimed the women’s 200m butterfly in a PB. Controlling the women’s final from the outset, the South Australian led at every wall: 27.80 at 50m, 59.88 at 100m and 1:32.88 at 150m before touching in 2:06.24.

Lizzy Dekkers made it a 1-2 finish for the Dolphins – clocking 2:06.56, her final 50m the fastest in the field.

Australia’s final gold medal of the night came courtesy of Sam Short taking first points from America’s most decorated swimmer Bobby Finke in the men’s 800m free.

Short claimed gold and a Championship record in 7:37.02, finishing a little more than five seconds ahead of Finke’s 7:42.52.

Ben Goedemans finished 3rd in 7:44.67 – this was a full second drop from his previous PB.

In the final event of the night, it took a world record from Team USA to win the mixed 4x100m medley relay in 3:36.70 ahead of Australian quartet Iona Anderson, Sam Williamson, Matt Temple and Meg Harris who touched in second in 3:39.30.