Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

Undoubtedly, now the swimmer of the men's field for 2026, despite not taking that World Cup title, but...

The way that he showed up at Europeans, the way that he then dominated the result at the Pan Pacific Championships where he wasn't even eligible to take home medals.

He's just another level.

And I think what we were saying leading into Paris was, well, if the conditions aren't right for Florian, then we don't see the best Florian.

It's a world record holder, one of the fastest breaststroke swimmers in history.

Recently broke the world record in 100 meter short course breaststroke at the time of 55.14. At the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, he won five medals, three gold, two silver.

After finishing second at the 2023 NCAA Championships while competing for Indiana University, he stepped away from competitive swimming before returning to the sport, earning a spot in the U.S. national team.

He's still director of ops at IU Swimming.

So I've just gone with that.

Luke, to be honest with you, just quickly preparing for the upcoming Pan Pacific Games, which Trish will be competing in.

She's been rehabbing quite crazy.

So she's about five weeks ahead of schedule.

This was one of the most impactful swims from that meet for obvious reason, being a world record, lowered her own world record there.

And then the number two favorite has got to be the long course world record holder in this event, Kate Douglas, who had just an absurdly dominant swim during the Pan Pacific Championships when she just went a stupidly fast 23.19 in long course swimming.

Without a turn, and she's entered with a 2294, which has her over a second clear of the number three seed.

It's going to be those two taking the top spots almost certainly.

So, how much better is Matthias? The 26-year-old has rocketed from retirement and relative obscurity to the American record holder in both the 50-meter and the 100-meter breaststroke.

At the Pan Pacific Championships in mid-August, where the top U.S. swimmers took on rivals from Australia, Japan, China, Canada, Brazil, and elsewhere, Mathias won three golds and two silver medals.

He has the four fastest times in the world this year in the 100 breast and and is also number one internationally in the 50.

Well, if anyone is going to set fire to a conventional thinking in the sport, well, it might as well be Matthias, a part-time swimmer with a full-time day job as Indiana's director of swimming operations.

One of our success stories was a kid that joined our team when he was eight, Keaton Jones, and, uh, set a bunch of state records, went to Cal, and then went, made the Olympic team in 2024.

And, uh, you know, just got done with Pan Pacs last month and is con- you know, on the national team and, and just kind of one of those kids, uh, one of dozens, you know, whose journey started with us 10 years long and, and, uh, swimming, you know, can take you from where you are to where you wanna go.

You know, to have en- coached NCAA champions and, and not just-- It doesn't have to be, uh, achieving at the highest level.

It's kids that are still part of my master's program now after swimming club for 10 years and then graduating from college.

And I could've made that intro, like, four minutes long, by the way, because Summer is just such an accomplished swimmer, such an accomplished person.

And this is really the first time that I was sitting down with her not virtually, and so we got to dig into her Pan Pacs performances, which she was definitely not happy with.

We got to understand how she processed her performances, what she's gonna change, her conversations with Bob.

Talked about her boyfriend.

Yes

... which was really fun.

Um, but yeah, I kinda just took those two weeks to rest and reset and, you know, not think too much about Pan Pacs.

[laughs] And then once I got back here, I really, you know, made a bunch of notes and ideas that I had and brought those to the coaches on what we should be changing and, you know, what they had too.

Uh, wait.

At, wait, at Pan Pacs?

In the 100 free.

You, no, you said that before.

Um, like we had great women's backstroke this summer, uh, domestically-

Mm-hmm

... and at Pan Pacs, but now you add Sarah Curtis into that.

It's, um, that should be-