Six American records fall on day two of 2026 Para Pan Pacific Championships

WALNUT, Calif. – Day two of competition at the 2026 Para Pan Pacific Championships saw six more American records fall, as Katie Kubiak (Cedarburg, Wisconsin), Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas), Aspen Shelton (Southlake, Texas), Aiden Stivers (Fortville, Indiana) and more all clocked new American records on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College. 

Following a world record to kick off the meet, Kubiak continued her incredible weekend, adding an American record in the women’s 50-meter backstroke S5 with a time of 40.69 in the prelims, only to improve her own American record in the finals with a new mark of 40.18. Kubiak collected her third medal of the weekend in the 50 backstroke,  

Stivers claimed the morning’s second record, lowering his own American mark in the men’s SB9 100 breaststroke to 1:10.43. He then bested his record to set it again in the finals with a time of 1:09.90.  

“I’ve been training really hard throughout August. Moving to college and training there has been a big change," said Stivers. "I was a little worried coming into this meet, but I’m really excited that all the hard work I’ve put in over the past few months has paid off.” 
 
Paralympian Olivia Chambers (Little Rock, Arkansas) also recorded an American record mark of 1:18.25 in the SB12 women’s 100 breaststroke, dropping the old record by nearly half a second. Additionally, Shelton added to the record-setting day by lowering her own American record in the women’s 50 breaststroke SB2 by nearly two seconds, clocking the event in a time of 1:06.42. 
 
Dillon Mezey continued the dominating performance in the pool, setting an American record in the S3 50 backstroke in a time of 59.27. Clocking another American record in the prelims, Josie Dolan established a new American record in the SB9 100 breaststroke, beating her own American record with a new time of 1:21.68. 

 
Leanne Smith was the only American to earn two podium finishes on the day, taking bronze in the women’s 50-meter backstroke before earning silver in the 50-meter breaststroke. 

“Nothing is going to go perfectly, but my performances this weekend so far gives me confidence knowing that despite some of the challenges I’ve faced this week, whether it’s the water temperature or swimming outdoors, I’ve been able to overcome them and still execute my races the way we’ve been training,” said Smith. “It’s reassuring to trust my training, not worry too much about outside factors, control the controllables, and let everything else play out. 
 
Team USA continued its full force during the final's session as Paralympian Ali Truwit (Darien, Connecticut) kicked off the night with a silver medal performance in the Women’s 400 Freestyle (S10) with a time of 4:31.43, just .13 seconds off of her American record.  
 
“I was feeding off the energy of some incredible swims from my teammates,” said Truwit. “I was really excited to get out there and have that performance for myself. I’m happy to be right back where I was. Watching our team crush it here has been so motivating, energizing and exciting. Watching two world records go down and to be able to hand out all these checks through the Performance Incentive Fund has been the most special, incredible way to kick it off.” 

Evan Wilkerson (Wake Forest, North Carolina) ended up with a bronze in a closely contested men’s 400 freestyle race (S11), earning his first medal of the weekend after he finished in 4:36.43.  

For the first time in U.S. Paralympic history, Team USA fielded an elite mixed 4x100-meter freestyle relay composed entirely of S14 swimmers at a major international championship. The team featured Piper Sadowski, Cyrus Kia, Eric Cordero and Tessa Nagy, finishing in 4:40.7.
 
Hosted by U.S. Paralympics Swimming for the first time since 2014, the international championship features 10 nations and 170 athletes for three days of racing. The competition provides Team USA another opportunity to race on home soil less than two years before the LA28 Paralympic Games. 
 
Para Pan Pacific Championships continue through Sunday, with preliminary heats beginning at 9:30 a.m. PT and finals at 5:30 p.m. PT. All events are contested in multiclass format, with results determined using the World Para Swimming points system to create an equitable field of play across classifications. 
  
For complete results from day one, visit USParaSwimming.org.   
  
For interview and photo requests, please contact Ike.Hartman@usopc.org.