First Edition of Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Since 2018
NBC Sports to Present Coverage this Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC; Live Coverage Begins Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET on Peacock
Kate Douglass, Torri Huske, Bobby Finke, and More Olympic Medalists Expected to Compete
Commentators: Jason Knapp (Play-by-Play), Three-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines (Analyst), and Nicole Auerbach (Reporter)
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 11, 2026 – After an eight year-hiatus, the prestigious Pan Pacific Swimming Championships return tomorrow, with nine-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky, five-time Olympic medalist Kate Douglass, and three-time Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske headlining NBC Sports’ comprehensive coverage from William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, Calif., across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN this week. NBC and Peacock will present coverage on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, with daily live coverage beginning tomorrow, Aug. 12, at 1 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Debuting in 1985, the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships are an international championship competition featuring over 20 non-European countries, including its four charter nations of the United States, Australia, Canada, and Japan. This will be the 14th installment of the meet and the first since 2018 after the previously-scheduled 2022 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ledecky, the most decorated U.S. female Olympian of all time with 14 medals, returns as the defending Pan Pacific champion in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, in which she set the event record (8:09.13), and 1500m freestyle. Overall, Ledecky is an eight-time Pan Pacific gold medalist and set then-world records in the 400m freestyle and 1500m freestyle at the 2014 edition.
Ledecky leads a strong U.S. contingent expected to compete this week, which includes the Pan Pacific Championship debuts of five-time Olympic medalist Kate Douglass, three-time Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske, and four-time Olympic medalist Gretchen Walsh, and the Pan Pacific return of three-time Olympic gold medalist Bobby Finke and seven-time Olympic medalist and eight-time Pan Pacific medalist Simone Manuel, competing in her third Pan Pacific Championship.
On the international side, Summer McIntosh (Canada) is expected to make her Pan Pacific debut. A three-time Paris Olympic gold medalist coming off a 2025 season that saw the Canadian prodigy win four world titles, McIntosh has had a historic 2026 season thus far, breaking the longest-standing world record in women’s swimming in July when she clocked a blistering 2:01.65 in the 200m butterfly, eclipsing Liu Zige’s previous world record from 2009. McIntosh and Ledecky are expected to clash in the 400m freestyle on Friday night.
NBC Sports’ Jason Knapp will call the action alongside three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines. Nicole Auerbach will serve as reporter.
How To Watch – Weds., Aug. 12 – Sun., Aug. 16 (all times ET)
- TV: NBC
- Streaming: Peacock, NBCSN (LIVE)
Date | Time (ET) | Platforms |
Weds., Aug. 12 | 1 p.m. (Prelims) | Peacock |
10 p.m. (Finals) | Peacock, NBCSN | |
Thurs., Aug. 13 | 1 p.m. (Prelims) | Peacock |
10 p.m. (Finals) | Peacock, NBCSN | |
Fri., Aug. 14 | 1 p.m. (Prelims) | Peacock |
10 p.m. (Finals) | Peacock, NBCSN | |
Sat., Aug. 15 | 1 p.m. (Prelims) | Peacock |
3 p.m. | NBC* | |
10 p.m. (Finals) | Peacock, NBCSN | |
Sun., Aug. 16 | 2 p.m. | NBC* |
*Encore coverage
--NBC SPORTS--
