Two Week After 30th Birthday, Simone Manuel Is Still an Asset for Team USA Relays (RELAY ANALYSIS)
· Braden Keith · 2026-08-15T16:09:42+00:00 · nguồn gốc
2026 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- August 12-15, 2026
- Irvine, California
- William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Stream (USA Swimming YouTube)
- Recaps
In spite of being a leadoff leg, American Kate Douglass had the fastest split of the women’s 400 free relay on Friday evening in Irvine.
Her 51.69 set a new American Record and was just .01 seconds shy of the World Record after skipping the individual event earlier in the meet.
Other than that, there were no real head-turning splits, even for the United States’ National Record setting relay. Both the Australian and American women did their damage with depth, which sets up for a really exciting battle when both the USA (Anna Moesch) and Australia (Mollie O’Callaghan) return to full strength in the next few seasons.
The standout leg for Team USA was Simone Manuel, splitting 52.61 on the anchor after 53.08/53.13 in the individual event. The 2016 Olympic Champion in the event is now 30 years old, but continues to prove that she can be a valuable relay contributor for Team USA in the tailing years of her career.
For Australia, Olivia Wunsch stepped up with a 52.52 split, versus the 52.98 flat start she went in the individual event final. Australia isn’t as deep in the women’s sprint frees as they once were, and the development of the 20-year-old Wunsch might be the key to their chances in LA 28.
Meg Harris also split 52.51 on the leadoff leg for Australia, which is faster than the 52.60 that won her gold in the individual event final.
For the bronze medalists Canada: Taylor Ruck didn’t have her best swim of the meet leading off this relay (53.59), good swims from 18-year-old Leah Tigert (54.04) and 18-year-old Leila Fack (54.61) as Canada looks to find enough legs to convince Summer McIntosh that relays are worth the energy at the Olympic Games. Both Tigert (Tennessee) and Fack (Michigan) will train in the United States collegiate system ahead of the Games.
Reina Liu, 16, is another American-trained possible relay mate. She split 54.72 to anchor Canada’s “B” relay after a flat-start best of 54.94 at Canadian Trials earlier this year.
Actual Relay Finish Order
| Place | Country | Time | Behind |
| 🥇 1 | USA | 3:29.32 | — |
| 🥈 2 | Australia | 3:31.11 | 1.79 |
| 🥉 3 | Canada | 3:36.44 | 7.12 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3:38.38 | 9.06 |
| 5 | Japan | 3:40.07 | 10.75 |
| 6 | Canada B | 3:40.80 | 11.48 |
| 7 | South Africa | 3:50.92 | 21.6 |
Leadoff Legs – Women’s 4×100 Free Relay
| Rank | Swimmer | Country | Split |
| 1 | Kate Douglass | USA | 51.69 |
| 2 | Meg Harris | Australia | 52.51 |
| 3 | Taylor Ruck | Canada | 53.59 |
| 4 | Erika Fairweather | New Zealand | 54.25 |
| 5 | Ayu Mizoguchi | Japan | 55.03 |
| 6 | Sarah Fournier | Canada B | 55.28 |
| 7 | Grace Morris | South Africa | 57.19 |
Rolling Starts – Women’s 4×100 Free Relay
| Rank | Swimmer | Country | Split |
| 1 | Gretchen Walsh | USA | 52.23 |
| 2 | Olivia Wunsch | Australia | 52.52 |
| 3 | Simone Manuel | USA | 52.61 |
| 4 | Torri Huske | USA | 52.79 |
| 5 | Milla Jansen | Australia | 53.03 |
| 6 | Alexandria Perkins | Australia | 53.05 |
| 7 | Leah Tigert | Canada | 54.04 |
| 8 | Mary-Sophie Harvey | Canada | 54.2 |
| 9 | Chelsey Edwards | New Zealand | 54.29 |
| 10 | Zoe Pedersen | New Zealand | 54.54 |
| 11 | Shiho Matsumoto | Japan | 54.58 |
| 12 | Leilani Fack | Canada | 54.61 |
| 13 | Reina Liu | Canada B | 54.72 |
| 14 | Rio Suzuki | Japan | 55.12 |
| 15 | Milan Glintmeyer | New Zealand | 55.3 |
| 16 | Nagisa Ikemoto | Japan | 55.34 |
| 17 | Brooklyn Douthwright | Canada B | 55.39 |
| 18 | Erin Gallagher | South Africa | 55.4 |
| 19 | Summer Cardwell | Canada B | 55.41 |
| 20 | Corne van Schalkwyk | South Africa | 58.5 |
| 21 | Morgan Cope | South Africa | 59.83 |