By Spencer Penland on SwimSwam
2024 JUNIOR PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- August 21-24, 2024
- Canberra, Australia
- LCM (50 meters)
- Live Results
- Live Stream
- All Days Prelims Heat Sheet
- Prelims Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2
- Finals Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2
BOYS 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINALS
- World Junior Record: 7:08.37 – USA (2019)
- Meet Record: 7:13.07 – Australia (2022)
- All Comers Record: 7:03.24 – USA (2007)
RESULTS:
- USA ‘A’ (Mijatovic, Clontz, Enoch, Zhao) – 7:15.82
- Australia ‘A’ (Cross, Collins, Fackerell, Da Silva) – 7:17.66
- Canada ‘A’ (Ekk, Kim, Miao, Norman) – 7:17.73
- Japan ‘A’ (Kuroda, Abe, Tsujimori, Nishikawa) – 7:24.43
- Singapore ‘A’ (Yap, Leong, Cheng, Pang) – 7:44.28
- South Korea ‘A’ (Won, Kim, Park, Lee) – 7:45.96
- USA ‘B’ (Hammer, Robinson, Shackell, Ellis) – 7:27.47
- Canada ‘B’ (Brennan, Florez, Winterborn, Kirk) – 7:28.92
- Singapore ‘B’ (Tan, Chin. Koh, Ang) – 8:10.71
Leading off the Canadian boys 4×200 free relay this evening at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacs in Canberra, 17-year-old Ethan Ekk broke a 15-year-old Canadian Age Group Record in the 200 free. Ekk led his team off in 1:48.68, dipping under the record of 1:48.74, which was set back in August of 2009 by Hassaan Abdel-Khalik.
Ekk, who lives in Florida in the US and competes for Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club, swam a very consistent race tonight to break the record. He was 25.85 on the opening 50, then split 27.51, 27.63, and 27.69 respectively the rest of the way, for a 53.36 on the first 100 and a 55.32 on the back half.
Ekk entered the meet with a career best of 1:49.15, which he swam in May of this year at the Canadian Swimming Trials. He then earned the silver medal in the individual 200 free on the first night of the meet, posting a new personal best of 1:48.76. He was just 0.02 seconds off the record at that point, and he managed to drop another 0.08 seconds tonight.
Here is a split comparison between Ekk’s 1:48.76 in the individual 200 free and his 1:48.68 leading off the relay tonight:
| Split | Ethan Ekk – Relay Lead-Off (8/22) | Ethan Ekk – Individual 200 Free (8/21) |
| 50m | 25.85 | 25.81 |
| 100m | 53.36 (27.51) | 53.69 (27.88) |
| 150m | 1:20.99 (27.63) | 1:21.32 (27.63) |
| 200m | 1:48.68 (27.69) | 1:48.76 (27.44) |
| FINAL TIME | 1:48.68 | 1:48.76 |
He didn’t swim the race in a hugely different manner tonight than he did last night, however, he was out a little faster tonight. Ekk flipped in 53.36 at the 100m turn tonight, 0.33 seconds ahead of the 53.69 he was at in the individual race. He just so happened to have the same exact split on the 3rd 50 in both races, 27.69, which again left him 0.33 seconds ahead of his pace from last night in his race tonight. Ekk was a touch slower coming home on the final 50 tonight, however, he still managed to be ahead of his pace, setting a new career mark and breaking the record.
Hassaan Abdel-Khalik would go on to compete at the University of Michigan in the US, where he was an NCAA All-American in the 500 yard freestyle in 2010, and was a member of a pair of All-American 800 free relays.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ethan Ekk Cracks 15-Year-Old Canadian Age Group Record in the Boys 15-17 200 Free – 1:48.68