The Pan Pacific Swimming Championships is a long course swimming event first held in 1985. It was founded as an alternative to the European Championships, for those countries that could not swim in those championships, in a manner similar to the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships which provide a similar 'continental' championships for non-European nations.
Tracey Lee Wickham is an Australian former middle distance swimmer. Wickham was the World Champion for the 400 m and 800 m freestyle in 1978, and won gold in both events at the 1978 and 1982 Commonwealth Games. She is a former world record holder for the 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m freestyle. Despite her success in the pool, Wickham has battled hardship and personal tragedy throughout her life.
Darren Niel Lange, from Toowoomba, Australia is a former freestyle swimming champion. He competed in the Australian Olympic trials on three occasions to qualify for an Australian Team but fell short, although in 1991 he qualified for the World Championship Team. Darren went on to represent Australia on eleven national teams including the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Two years later Darren achieved gold and silver medals at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.
Francis Crippen was an American long-distance swimmer. After being a pool swimmer for most of his career, Crippen made the transition to open water swimming in 2006. In international competitions, Crippen won seven medals, five of which were in the open water and two in the pool. Crippen died during an open water swimming race in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 at the age of 26.
Shelley Taylor-Smith is a former Australian long-distance swimmer.
Kirsten Cameron, born 1973 in Masterton, is a former New Zealand Distance freestyle and open water swimmer and a world record holder in Masters swimming in the 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 age groups. She was the 2009 national inaugural champion for women's 10 km open-water swim. Kirsten started competitive swimming in 2004.
Erica Lara Rose was an American competition swimmer who specialized in long-distance and open water events. Rose was a 5 km World Aquatics champion in Perth, Australia at only fifteen in 1998, was a four-time Pan American swim marathon gold medalist, a Pan Pacific 3.1 mile champion in 1997 in Melbourne, Australia, and a ten-time National Open Water swim marathon champion at 5 km, 10 km, and 25 km distances between 1997 and 2007. She competed with Cleveland's Lake Erie Silver Dolphins, Hawken High School Swim Team, the Northwestern University Swim Team, and for twelve years with the USA Swimming National Team.
Chloe Elizabeth Sutton Mackey is an American competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle and long-distance events. Sutton represented the United States at two consecutive Olympic Games. Sutton has won a total of five medals in major international competition, three gold, one silver, and one bronze spanning the Open Water Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, and Pan American Games. She was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and competed in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Poliana Okimoto is a Brazilian long-distance swimmer.
Haley Danita Anderson is an American competitive swimmer who is an Olympic silver medalist. She placed second in the 10-kilometer open water event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Karen Burton is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in long-distance freestyle and open water events. While competing in the 25-kilometer open-water event, she represented the United States at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Western Australia, and took a bronze medal in the 1991 World Aquatics Championships. In Open Water championships sponsored by USA Swimming, she placed first in six national open water swimming champion competitions, which included three 15 km (9.3-mile) races and one 25 km (15.5-mile) race.
Eva Fabian is an American-Israeli open water swimmer. She was the 2010 world champion in the 5-kilometer swim, and won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in the women's 10k.
The women's marathon swimming over a distance of 10 kilometres at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place on 9 August in the Serpentine at Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom.
Richard Weinberger is a Canadian long-distance swimmer. Weinberger won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the 10-kilometre open water marathon. He is the 2011 Pan American Games champion and also has a bronze medal from the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.
Richard Campion is an English-born former competition swimmer, who later became a respected Australian swimming administrator.
Allan Lopes Mamédio do Carmo is a Brazilian swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He is considered one of the fastest professional open water swimmers in the world, finishing near the top of FINA World Cup races for the 10 km marathon. He also won a bronze medal for his category at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Ana Marcela Jesus Soares da Cunha is a Brazilian swimmer who specializes in the open water swimming marathon. She is considered one of the best open water swimmers in history, having obtained 17 medals in FINA World Aquatics Championships. She has also received FINA’s Female World Open Water Swimmer Of The Year award six times. Her countless achievements are comparable only to those of Larisa Ilchenko, another multi-medalist in World Championships.
Ashley Grace Twichell is an American competition swimmer who specializes in long-distance freestyle and open-water events. She placed seventh in the 10 kilometer open water swim at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Twichell's age at her Olympic Games debut, 32 years of age, made her the oldest American swimmer first-timer at an Olympic Games since 1908.
Nicholas Sloman is an Australian open water swimmer. He is a six-time medalist at FINA Marathon Swim World Series, winning a gold medal and a silver medal at the 2019 edition and three silver medals and one bronze medal at the 2022 edition. At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, he won the bronze medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim.
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