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Brooke Bennett, USA, took the lead from the gun and kept it throughout the race. It appeared as though Claudia Poll, CRC, would sit back and try to challenge with a negative split, but talented as she is, her efforts were not enough to surpass a determined Bennett, who won in 8:26.36. Poll took the silver in 8:29.05, and Diana Munz, USA, the bronze in 8:29.06. Nadine Neumann, AUS, was fourth with 8:40.56.
Kristine Quance, USA, like other winners at this meet, took it out fast in a "catch me if you can" spirit, taking her second IM gold in 2:13.79. Canadians Marianne Limpert (2:14.91) and Joanne Malar (2:16.17) took the remaining medals.
Limpert and Malar medalled in 200 I.M. Matthew Dunn of Australia and Canada's Curtis Myden staged another of their battles with Dunn coming from behind on the second 100 to win in 2:01.14 over Myden's 2:01.83. Ron Karnaugh, USA, making a comeback after completing medical studies, swam a creditable 2:02.25 for third place. Dunn's time moved him from 13th to 11th on the all-time best list.
Tom Dolan, USA, scratched from the prelims in the 200 IM.
Jingyi Le, CHN, won the only gold for her country at this year's Pan Pacs in the 50 free with 25.24. Jenny Thompson, USA, won the silver in 25.42, and Nicole de Man, USA, won the bronze in 25.66, not a particularly high standard for this event.
The men's 50 sprint was hotly contested, with Ricardo Busquets of Puerto Rico and William Pilczuk of the USA tied for gold with 22.42. David Fox, USA, took the bronze in 22.69.
Samantha Riley, AUS, eclipsed the field, and her time of 2:25.34 was the top women's performance of the meet. Masami Tamaka of Japan took silver (2:28.66) from a determined Lauren van Oosten, CAN, who finished in 2:29.83, a personal best.
Kurt Grote, USA, took the 200 event with a 2:14.05. Phil Rogers, AUS, set the pace from lane 1 and led the race to the 150 turn, where his lack of condition showed. Grote took over to land his second gold medal in 2:14.05. Yoshiaki Okita, JPN, was second in 2:14.59. Tom Wilkin, USA, finished in 2:14.80, ahead of Rogers by 1/100 of a second to take the bronze.
We couldn't wait for the 1500 free on the last day of the meet. Unfortunately, the virus that sent some of Grant Hackett's Australian teammates home without swimming, couldn't wait either and announced its prescence on the day of the 1500. To the disappointment of all, this promising distance swimmer was not well enough to go under 15 minutes as he had hoped, but he did win the race to retain his country's unbeaten record in this event at all seven Pan Pacific Championships.
Suffering from a viral infection and high temperature, he should not have swum the race. He did, however, complaining afterward that he was "sick as a dog" and had fever chills before the race. He still won convincingly, even if erratically, in 15:13.25. Tyler Painter, USA, was second in 15:17.01, with teammate Chad Carvin very close behind in 15:17.18.
Hackett will face some challenges at Australia's Trials Meet for the World Championships on October 5 to 11, where he will compete with Kieren Perkins, Daniel Kowalski, and 14-year-old sensation Ian Thorpe for the two spots on the team. There will have to be two worthy swimmers sitting in the stands watching the 400 and 1500 freestyle at Perth in January.
The Japanese fans had much to cheer about after Mai Nakamura's backstroke leg gave the team the lead. The Americans took the lead after the breaststroke leg, although it was Australia's Samantha Riley who swam the fastest 100 breast (1:07.10). Ayari Aoyama's fly leg narrowed the gap between the second-place Australians and third-place Japanese. However, Jenny Thompson's final 100 free beat all, locking up the US win. The USA team's winning time of 4:04.27 did not challenge the Pan Pac record of 4:02.93. Australia placed second with 4:05.72 and Japan third with 4:07.83. Canada placed fourth with 4:10.76.
The outcome was never in doubt for the USA after Lenny Krayzelburg's blistering 54.74 in the lead-off backstroke leg. The Australians were second throughout, with Michael Klim closing the gap with his 48.60 final freestyle leg, his fastest 100 free at the Pan Pacs. The USA relay team won in a Pan Pac record time of 3:36.93, almost three full seconds ahead of the Australians (3:39.73). The Canadians placed third in 3:43.98, almost ten full seconds ahead of fourth-place New Zealand.
The Japanese team was disqualified.