Canada got off to a five-medal start at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Wednesday in Canberra, Australia.
Aiden Norman of University of Calgary Swim Club led the way with gold in the men’s 100-m backstroke. His time of 54.10 was more than a second ahead of Blake Amlicke of Team USA (55.16) and Jack Morrow of Australia (55.59).
“I’m really happy with it. I think I executed it well and I’m just really proud of myself for how I stayed calm and executed in that situation. I couldn’t be more happy,” said Norman, 18, who was just .11 off his personal best from May’s Olympic & Paralympic Trials, presented by Bell.
“I was hoping for a best time but at the end of the day I’m never not going to be my happiest when I win a gold medal at an international competition. All I wanted to do was win the gold medal and I got that done,” he said.
Norman, one of two returning junior team members, was an individual finalist at last year’s world junior championships, and helped the men’s 4×100-m freestyle relay to bronze at that event
“I’ve never felt so much pride being on the podium. I was on the podium last year on a relay but winning a medal in the individual is not what I expected, it was a lot more,” he said.
It was a big night for Canada at the Australian Institute of Sport Aquatic Centre, as Norman’s gold made it medals in three straight events. Canada won three medals total (1 silver, 2 bronze) at the last Junior Pan Pacs in Honolulu in 2022.
Ethan Ekk got Canada started with silver in the men’s 200-m freestyle. The Florida-based swimmer posted a personal best of 1:48.76 to finish between winner Luka Mijatovic of Team USA (1:48.05) and Marcus Da Silva of Australia (1:49.02).
Madison Kryger of Brock Niagara Aquatics followed up with bronze in the women’s 100-m backstroke. Leah Shackley of Team USA was the only swimmer to break a minute, winning in 59.46. Her teammate Charlotte Crush finished second in 1:00.19. Kryger, who trains part-time at the High Performance Centre – Ontario, followed in a personal best 1:00.69. Delia Lloyd of Etobicoke Swim Club/HPC-Ontario, the other junior team returnee along with Norman, was fourth in 1:00.95.
“I was pretty excited after the morning, being in fourth (after heats) is a pretty good place to be, there’s always a chance to hopefully get on that podium. I just wanted to come out tonight and showcase everything I’ve done in training, all the hours of work that I’ve put in,” Kryger said. “This is my first time on a junior team, it’s pretty surreal I got on a podium my first day, it was really cool.”
Canada went on to grab medals in the final two events. Julia Strojnowksa took silver in the women’s 1,500-m freestyle, taking more than five seconds off her personal best with a time of 16:37.72. Paige Downey of Team USA won in 16:24.58, while Haruka Taka of Japan took bronze in 16:42.56.
Canada then capped a successful evening with silver in the mixed 4×100-m medley relay. The team of Norman, Oliver Dawson, Leilani Fack and Lloyd combined for a time of 3:49.16 to take second. Norman led off with a 100 back of 53.86, faster than his best time although mixed relay splits do not officially count as personal bests. Dawson, of the Grande Prairie (Alta.) Piranhas followed in a breaststroke leg of 1:00.22 to keep Canada in the lead by more than five seconds.
Team USA moved ahead on the back half to win 3:45.21, while Japan took bronze in 3:50.85, just out-touching the host Australians (3:50.99).
The four-day meet continues through Saturday. The event, held every two years, brings together the best junior swimmers from Charter nations Australia, USA, Canada and Japan. Invitations are also extended to other non-European nations, with regular participants including Singapore and New Zealand. The University of British Columbia Aquatic Centre will host the next edition Aug. 17-20, 2026.
Full results: https://liveresults.swimming.org.au/sal/2024JPP/.