Pan Pacific Championships: USA Mixed Medley Relay Lineup?

Pan Pacific Championships: United States Could Consider Unconventional Lineup for Mixed Medley Relay

Conventional considering across the combined 400 medley relay, an occasion a part of the Olympic program for less than the previous two Games, suggests utilizing a male breaststroker and feminine freestyler. Based on a workforce’s strengths, its coaches can select a person or a girl for backstroke and butterfly. But on the upcoming Pan Pacific Championships, the United States may need to shake up its technique given the roster composition.

The high U.S. males’s backstroker this yr is veteran Ryan Murphy, who clocked 52.80 in late June as he makes an attempt a comeback to the game following a yr away. As for butterfly, soon-to-be American Ilya Kharun clocked 50.05 within the 100-meter race at U.S. Nationals, with world-record holder Caeleb Dressel not far again at 50.45. Unfortunately for this yr’s prospects, none of these males will compete at Pan Pacs, with a roster based mostly on occasions recorded final yr.

And in 2025, the U.S. males struggled throughout the board. Jack Alexy emerged as a freestyle star, clocking 46.71 within the 100 free to turn out to be the third-fastest man ever, however his teammates on the 2025 World Championships have been unable to win medals in some other 100-meter stroke occasions. Accordingly, it took a near-miracle 45.95 anchor leg for Alexy to salvage American  bronze within the males’s 400 medley relay.

The girls, however, return a powerhouse squad of Regan Smith (backstroke), Kate Douglass (breaststroke), Gretchen Walsh (butterfly) and Torri Huske (freestyle). All gained particular person medals of their respective occasions on the 2025 Worlds, and Smith and Walsh each maintain world data of their respective strokes. That group concluded the meet with a world-record-setting triumph within the girls’s medley relay.

How did the workforce deal with this conundrum for final yr’s combined relay? It didn’t, with the American workforce failing to advance to the ultimate. Now, the combined medley takes place on the conclusion of the primary night of Pan Pacs. The 100 again takes place that very same day, however the different 100-meter races won’t happen till later, so the American coaches should depend on knowledge from the previous two years to make their lineup resolution.

Van Mathias — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The emergence of Van Mathias makes the breaststroke leg a lot less complicated. Mathias, making his senior worldwide debut for the U.S. at Pan Pacs, has already set the American file within the occasion this yr, his 58.01 in June making him the fourth-fastest performer all-time. With a finest time seven seconds faster than any feminine breaststroker on the workforce (Douglass at 1:05.27), count on to see Mathias dealing with breaststroke duties proper off the bat.

Which different leg will function a male swimmer? More difficult to reply. Here are the perfect occasions from U.S. workforce members within the 100 again, 100 fly and 100 free over the previous two years. For freestyle, Douglass lately clocked 51.93 in a time trial at U.S. Nationals, though Huske stays an choice for that leg after ending with the highest time on the earth final yr. Anna Moesch, however, just isn’t on the Pan Pacs workforce regardless of breaking the American file within the 100 free on a number of event this yr.

• Backstroke: Regan Smith 57.35; Will Modglin 52.54
• Butterfly: Gretchen Walsh 54.33; Shaine Casas 50.24
• Freestyle: Kate Douglass 51.93; Jack Alexy 46.71

That offers three professional potentialities for this relay, all listed under mixed with Mathias’ breaststroke time:

• Regan Smith 57.35 + Van Mathias 58.01 + Gretchen Walsh 54.33 + Jack Alexy 46.71 = 3:36.40
• Will Modglin 52.54 + Van Mathias 58.01 + Gretchen Walsh 54.33 + Kate Douglass 51.93 = 3:36.81
• Regan Smith 57.35 + Van Mathias 58.01 + Shaine Casas 50.24 + Kate Douglass 51.93 = 3:37.53

Lo and behold, the quickest potential mixture has the Americans using the much-maligned technique of a male anchor swimmer. Not utilizing Walsh on butterfly is borderline unthinkable provided that she has achieved a world file of 54.33, rating greater than a second quicker than any swimmer in historical past.

Based on composite occasions, the mix with Will Modglin on backstroke and Douglass anchoring just isn’t far behind, however Modglin has not come near his finest type since final summer season’s World University Games. His leads to the 100 again particular person occasion on day one will give the U.S. coaches an thought of what he’s able to. On the opposite hand, the choice with Shaine Casas because the butterflyer is probably going eradicated given the composite evaluation.

The U.S. will attempt to out-duel a short-staffed Australian workforce for gold at Pan Pacs whereas additionally posting a time able to preserving tempo with the outcomes on the simultaneously-occurring European Championships. The Russian workforce that gained final yr’s world title by greater than two seconds might be competing at that meet. However, the quickest U.S. composite provides as much as 1.5 seconds faster than the three:37.97 ok for gold final yr and even quicker than the world file.