Aug. 11, 2018
400m Free Prelims Results| B-Final Results
400m IM Prelims Results| B-Final Results
TOKYO - After placing fourth overall in the preliminaries with a personal-best time, Penn State senior Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) placed second in the B-final of the women's 400-meter freestyle Saturday at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center.
McHugh shaved nearly three seconds off her previous best time to rank fourth overall in the 400m free prelims in 4:08.72, but fellow Americans Katie Ledecky (4:02.57) and Leah Smith (4:04.91) placed first and second, bouncing McHugh to the B-final since only two swimmers per country can compete in each championship heat. McHugh placed second in the B-final in 4:09.08.
McHugh faced a similar situation Thursday in the 400m IM. She had the time to advance to the A-final in the preliminaries, touching in sixth overall, but was third amongst fellow Americans in 4:41.08. With just 10 entrants overall in the event, McHugh was one of just two swimmers in the secondary race, but she faithfully completed it in 4:41.04 with her Team USA teammates cheering her on. The margin of victory was more than 46 seconds.
McHugh will round out the meet in the 1500m free, in which she earned silver at the Phillips 66 National Championships in the event in 16:02.56. That time is good enough to seed her sixth overall, but only as the third-fastest American, so she will swim in the second timed final. Timed finals begin at 9 p.m. EDT Saturday and continue at 5 a.m. EDT Sunday on the Olympic Channel.
With no Olympics or FINA World Championships this year, "Pan Pacs" are the year's top competition for Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, China, Cook Islands, Colombia, Ecuador, Guam, Northern Marlana Islands, New Zealand, Oman, Palau, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States. The Olympic Channel and NBCsports.com will provide one-hour delay coverage of the finals. A cable, satellite or over the top streaming subscription is required for viewing.
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