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Bermuda’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships squad have landed in Vancouver and completed their opening training session at the UBC Aquatic Centre ahead of Monday's competition.
The five-strong team of Connor Hupman, Logan Jones, Noah Maranzana, Teagan Mewett, and Katherine Wheddon will represent the island at the prestigious international meet, running from August 17th to 20th.
Bermuda will test themselves against the world's premier junior swimming talent, lining up alongside powerhouse nations including the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Mexico, and Singapore.
Smith: "Focus Is on Competing, Not Just Participating"
After touching down on Thursday, the squad were in the water on Friday morning for the first of three scheduled training sessions to acclimatise to the competition pool.
National Coach Ben Smith noted that the primary focus of the initial workout was shaking off travel fatigue and dialling in race preparations.
"It was good to get everyone together and into the competition pool," Smith said. "The first session was about recovering from the travel, getting a feel for the pool and beginning our final preparation for Monday.
"Junior Pan Pacs is a significant step up in competition for our swimmers. They will be racing against some of the best junior athletes in the world, and that is exactly the type of environment we want our young swimmers to experience.
"Our focus is on competing rather than simply participating. We want them to execute the races we have prepared for, challenge their personal best times and see how far they can move up against a very strong field."
Individual Schedules & Relay Entries
The Bermudian contingent is slated to race across a broad programme spanning freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events:
Connor Hupman: 50m, 100m, 200m Freestyle; 50m, 100m, 200m Backstroke
Logan Jones: 50m, 100m, 200m Freestyle; 100m Butterfly
Noah Maranzana: 50m, 100m Freestyle; 50m Butterfly; 50m Breaststroke
Teagan Mewett: 50m, 100m, 200m Breaststroke
Katherine Wheddon: 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m Freestyle; 50m Butterfly
Opening-Day Programme
Action gets underway on Monday morning, with Bermudian athletes contesting the heats of the 50m butterfly, 200m freestyle, and 100m backstroke.
The opening day will conclude with Bermuda lining up in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay during the evening session.
Preliminary heats are scheduled to begin at 9:00am local time, with finals taking place at 5:00pm local time.
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